Nasrallah commemorates Hizbullah 'triumphs' over Israel
Hizbullah leader thanks Lebanese soldiers for dismantling alleged Israeli spy camera; IDF denies claims Israeli forces attack near Sidon.
By JPOST.COM STAFFNasrallah on Screen 311(photo credit: Associated Press)
Hizbullah spiritual leader Hassan Nassrallah delivered a speech to his followers Wednesday night to commemorate the Shi'ite Muslim Ashoura festival. During his speech, Nasrallah dwelled at length over recent Hizbullah triumphs over Israeli forces and Israel's political position in the Middle East.Nasrallah celebrated the reportedly successful Lebanese Army dismantlement of two alleged Israeli long-range spy cameras planted on two mountains north and south of the capital Beirut, thanking the soldiers "for working so hard in the snow" while undertaking the operation. All reports over the operation stated that a the Lebanese Armed Forces located the devices after receiving information from Hizbullah.RELATED:Hizbullah: We are ready for another war with IsraelAnalysis: How will Nasrallah react to UN's Hariri findingsThe Hizbullah leader also sought to cast Israel, and not Iran or its allies, as the main destabilizing force in the Middle East. Israel seeks to "create strife" in the Middle East to shore up its precarious "strategic position," Nasrallah was quoted as saying on the website of Lebanese daily An-Nahar.Nasrallah also took credit for the end of the idea of a "Greater Israel" among the Israeli public and reiterated his previous statement that Hizbullah would not hand over any members who might be mentioned in the UN Hariri tribunal's upcoming indictments.Elsewhere in Lebanon, a loud explosion was heard near the city of Sidon in the South on Wednesday evening, Lebanese media reported.Lebanese media also claimed that IAF aircraft were spotted in the area were the explosion occurred, dropping flares around the area and that Israeli naval ships were spotted operating off the nearby coast. The reports included speculation that the alleged Israeli military operations were somehow connected to the discovery of the two spy cameras earlier in the day.The IDF released a statement saying that there had been no unusual activity by the IAF in Southern Lebanon.
