Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah expresses his condolences to the family of martyr First Lieutenant Samer Hanna
In a speech he gave during an Iftar hosted by a Hezbollah support committee, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed last week's shooting of a military helicopter .
Sayyed Nasrallah took responsibility for Hezbollah's actions, but described the shooting of the helicopter as entirely unintentional.
He said that the Resistance itself was "among the accomplishments of Ramadan." Nasrallah added that "the Resistance has known its enemy and knows its own goals: liberation of the land and the people."
As for Israel, Nasrallah said, alluding to the July 2006 war, "they know that their marine force, as well as their air force failed to achieve any military victories-they caused destruction but could not militarily succeed."
Sayyed Nasrallah spoke at length on last week's shooting of a military helicopter, which he described as "a painful incident" that could happen in any military in the world. "Even in our military training," Nasrallah said, "mistakes happen and members of Hezbollah are killed-we just report this to their families and not to the media."
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed the father of "the martyr Samer Hanna," the army officer killed in the shooting, saying, "I send him my condolences, and tell you that I understand what the family endures." One of Nasrallah's sons was killed by Israeli soldiers.
He praised the way "Army Command, the president, the prime minister and the defence minister have dealt with the helicopter incident... they will wait for investigations into the matter to be completed."
Nasrallah noted that "Army Command, in its press release, addressed the issue of responsibility in the helicopter incident when they said unknown gunmen shot it." He said that the suspected gunman handed over by Hezbollah to Lebanese authorities "turned himself in, so we accepted this; other members were interrogated as well."
Nasrallah was vehement in denying accusations that the shooting was intentional: "The incident has no political background and it is not a message to the Israelis-that is not how we send messages to them. We are most cautious in our relations with the army. We have lost martyrs who were killed by the Lebanese Army itself, yet we were cautious to avoid instigating any conflict with the army...Let no one use this helicopter incident to instigate conflict between the army and the Resistance. Nobody gave orders to shoot the helicopter." However, Nasrallah said that he himself was "responsible for all that the Resistance says and does."
He described the actual incident in some detail: "The helicopter was not brought down, it landed and some of our brothers were surprised and one of them shot it. We coordinated with the army to come take the helicopter. We asked who fired and who ordered him to, and our dignified brother who opened fire came forward himself."
The Hezbollah leader said "our youth are not street boys, they came to the resistance for sacrifice and we do not hand in anybody by force." Nasrallah went on to defend the suspected gunman. "I reject all comments that the Hezbollah member is a criminal," he said.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that his party will not surrender its weapons "as long as Israeli threats persist." "These weapons will remain because they are used for defence," Nasrallah said. He also reiterated that Hezbollah will destroy Israel if the Jewish state launches a new attack on Lebanon.
"Israel's elite military power will be destroyed in the South and in the Western Bekaa as well as in any place they might target in Lebanon," he added.
The Hezbollah chief said that Lebanon's internal disputes will not distract the resistance "from training and becoming stronger in order to defend our people and our country."
Sayyed Nasrallah said that his party did not mind any group taking part in its fight against Israel. "No one is forbidding you from resisting the enemy," he said. "Go ahead and do it."
He said that "Hezbollah was born victorious and that is what the facts and the future say-the days will prove it."
Nasrallah also formally concluded one of Hezbollah's longstanding grievances with Israel: "I officially announce that the issue of all living Lebanese detainees in Israel is closed...We are still awaiting the results of the DNA test of our brother Yehya Skaff, which are being conducted abroad for more accuracy."
Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the issue of suspects currently imprisoned for plotting to assassinate him: "There is a group accused of assassinating me, I forgive them and I will send a written letter to the military court urging them and to release them during Ramadan. " (5/9/2008)
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah expresses his condolences to the family of martyr First Lieutenant Samer Hanna | El Marada Australia 
5th September 2008
