Nasrallah challenges U.S. to disarm Hezbollah

4/1/2005 6:45:00 PM GMT

The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, challenged the United States to disarm his Lebanese movement or Palestinian resistance groups.

“If we tell America and all those who want to take away the arms of the resistance (Hezbollah), of the (Palestinian) refugee camps in Lebanon, and the resistance in Palestine so as to protect Israel that it is impossible and forbidden,” Nasrallah told hundreds of Palestinians in Beirut.

“The only option left for the Americans is to come and snatch the arms of the resistance and the camps in Lebanon. “I wish they would come. I wish,” Nasrallah added.

"All of us will protect the resistance, protect its role and its duty," he vowed.

France and the U.S., which brands Hezbollah a terrorist group, both backed UN Resolution 1559, that calls for the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Nasrallah also stressed the importance of supporting the Palestinian resistance and said that there was a polt aiming at weakening the Hamas movement through isolating it from the Palestinian people.

He also warned against sedition among the Lebanese, saying that such a sedition will only benefit the U.S. and Israel.

In a seperate statement, Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naeem Qasem also renewed the movement's opposition to the U.S. interference in the domestic affairs of Lebanon.

Those who demand support from foreign countries are making a big mistake, he said.

Beirut’s rally was organized by Hamas resistance movement to mark the death of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Hamas’ spiritual leader assassinated by Israel last year.

In his speech, Hamas’ political leader Khaled Meshaal also threatened to attack Israel if it violated the cease-fire, declared by Israeli and Palestinian leaders in February.

Mashaal warned that Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups will end the truce if Israel doesn’t stop its aggression against the Palestinians, fail to free Palestinian detainees or harm the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Islam.

"If (our) conditions, on top of ... the release of prisoners and ceasing all kinds of aggression, are not met, we will no longer abide" by the cease-fire.

"This truce is a period for pause, and to avoid destruction and sabotage," he added.

It was also reported that Hamas and Hezbollah issued a joint statement in which they vowed to continue their resistance against Israel.

The statement clearly stated that "Hamas will not be committed to remain calm if Israel fails to meet its demands."