Introduction

Hizbullah’s Secretary General H.E. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned “time is running out” for using diplomacy to end “Israel’s” border violations. “The resistance is serious in its threat to resume its armed struggle if “Israel” fails to retreat from some seventeen patches of Lebanese land it still occupies along the border”, he said.

For his part, Hizbullah’s Official of South Lebanon H.E. Sheikh  Nabil Qaouk said that “Israel” had yet to deal with the issue of its violations on the border and that Hizbullah is prepared to use force to free Lebanese hostages held in “Israeli” jails.

However, “Israeli” Army continued its aggressions on Lebanon as its soldiers fired in the air, drove across the Lebanese border and seized a Lebanese journalist’s camera yesterday.

Nasrallah warns that Hizbullah is running short on patience…(1)

“Hizbullah warned on Wednesday that time was running out for using diplomacy to end “Israel’s” border violations and hinted that military reprisals could not be ruled out.
The stern threats from party secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah came as “Israeli” soldiers fired shots at a Lebanese reporter on the border near Kfar Shouba amid a deadlock in the task of confirming “Israel’s” withdrawal.
Nasrallah said after a one-hour meeting with Prime Minister Salim Hoss that he was awaiting the outcome of international efforts to secure a full “Israeli” pullout from the South and the release of prisoners held in “Israel”.
“I discussed with Premier Hoss the issue of Lebanese prisoners and the repeated “Israeli” violations which take place almost every day,” he said.
“Also, we discussed the latest results of contacts in this regard and we are still awaiting serious moves. I believe the time is running out and, as I said before, the resistance will not wait long.”
Nasrallah said Hizbullah was awaiting the result of UN efforts to remove the border violations, but warned against any delays.
“If we find that the matters are not being handled seriously and the whole thing is just to let the time pass, then we have no other option to take up our responsibilities,” he said.
“We cannot wait to see our sovereignty being violated, our visitors being attacked as happened to the Jordanian delegation... we are serious about it,” he said referring to the wounding of four Jordanians last weekend at the Fatmeh gate in Kfar Kila.
“We are not showing off or just talking for the sake of talk. Our history proves we are serious. The resistance and the government have the same stand,” Nasrallah said.
He added that Hizbullah was ready to do “everything that will strengthen Lebanon’s stand against Western and US pressures on it to remain silent while its land is being partitioned and occupied and its detainees are held in prisons.”
“The government and the resistance are all in one field to strengthen the Lebanese position to confront those pressures and not accept the status quo ­ occupation of its land or leaving its prisoners in “Israeli” jails,” he said.

Nasrallah: Hizbullah will remain vigilant and its arms stocks intact…(2)

In an interview with the daily Safir newspaper Hizbullah’s Secretary General H.E. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said resistance fighters were instructed during the liberation process not to launch any cross-border attacks "until further notice". The resistance will continue to demand the return of all occupied Lebanese territories, including the Shebaa Farms, and the release of all Lebanese detained in “Israeli” prisons. But Nasrallah stressed, the group will practice restraint to avoid any pitfalls that may turn the victory in the south into a "funeral". The group will remain vigilant and its arms stocks intact since the resistance force is still needed.  Hizbullah's weapons should not be viewed as militia weaponry, because the goal of the resistance force is to defend Lebanon against “Israeli” aggressions. Nasrallah made clear Hizbullah is turning its attention into the development of remote and underprevilidged areas. The group has built a web of schools, hospitals and other social institutions in impoverished neighborhoods of large cities throughout Lebanon. That combined with its battlefield glory, should give Hizbullah a formidable boost as politicians manoeuvre for parliamentary elections due to start on August 27. In the current parliament it has a bloc of nine seats in the 128-member body. Hizbullah's main stream political was highlighted by a visit to the Baabda palace by Nasrallah. He paid similar calls on House Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Selim Hoss. In an interview with the daily al-Safir newspaper, Nasrallah said Hizbullah has become quote larger than a particular sect or country. "Hizbullah is an Islamic movement, but also a national party. It does not oppose the rise of a civil social and political system in Lebanon". He Praised President Emile Lahoud and the strong ties with the state, which he said along with the nation as a whole, embraced the cause of resisting “Israeli” occupation. Nasrallah said in the past few years, Hizbullah exerted major political efforts to drum up support for the resistance and to show Lebanese that the party is fighting “Israel” on behalf of the entire nation, not only a particular sect or group. But the conflict with “Israel” is not exactly over. Nasrallah said “Israel” remains an enemy, adding it embodies a Zionist plan that threatens the entire region. Hizbullah will continue to challenge “Israeli” plots, and call for the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem. Nasrallah urged the Arab world to support Palestinians in their struggle against “Israel”. 
The group which spearheaded the armed resistance effort to oust “Israeli” occupation troops from Lebanon following 22 years of occupation, pledged cooperation with the state on political and non-political matters to serve Lebanon's interests. UN Chief Kofi Annan sought Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah's cooperation for expanding the activities of UN peacekeepers in the area vacated by “Israel”. Annan was the most senior figure to hold talks with any of Hizbullah's leaders. The US and “Israel” did not criticize Annan's meeting with Nasrallah. The relentless and increasingly effective attacks of Hizbullah were the main factor in “Israel’s” decision to end its occupation of southern Lebanon. Hizbullah remains the strongest military organization near the “Israeli” border so far, until government troops and UN peacekeepers deploy in the region. The group has practiced restraint along the border region, despite daily “Israeli” attacks on Lebanese civilians who have been holding daily protests close to the frontier fence.

Hizbullah says it is determined to free prisoners in “Israel”

“Hizbullah’s southern commander, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, said that “Israel” had yet to deal with the issue of its violations on the border.
“While “Israel” relied in the past on tension between the Lebanese and the UN, it is now creating obstacles in face of the efforts of the UN,” Qaouk said after meeting Goksel.
Asked about the tensions at Fatima Gate, he said: “Neither the Lebanese government nor Hizbullah is ready to act as police like the Palestinian police in the West Bank and Gaza. We refuse to be border guards for the artificial “Israel” and we’re not ready to contribute to reassuring an enemy which occupied our land for more than 20 years” …(3)

Qauq said that Hizbullah is prepared to use force to free Lebanese prisoners held in “Israel”.

"Hizbullah is determined to obtain, even by force, the freedom of all Lebanese detained in “Israel” and especially two holy warriors, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustapha Dirani," Qauq told AFP in a statement.

"It is out of the question for Hizbullah to accept making compromises or bending its position on the question of prisoners," he said.

Twenty Lebanese are still held in “Israeli” prisons despite “Israel’s” retreat from south Lebanon on May 24, including some who have already served their prison sentences.

The leaders Obeid and Dirani were captured in 1986 and 1994 respectively by “Israeli” commandos, although neither has been tried. They are kept as bargaining chips to be exchanged for four members of the “Israeli” armed forces who disappeared over Lebanon.

“Israel’s” Supreme Court has ruled that such detentions are illegal but a bill that has received preliminary approval in parliament would legalize the detention by invoking security concerns.

The US-based group Human Rights Watch has strongly criticized the bill, calling the keeping of hostages a war crime…(4)

Goksel said it was the first time that he and Qaouk had met since the end of the occupation. The veteran UNIFIL spokesman said that, other than discussing security and social developments in the south, he and the resistance commander “exchanged memories”…(5)

“Israel’s” Army continued its aggressions on Lebanon…(6)

Assaf Abu Rahal, a photographer with the newspaper Al-Mustaqbal claimed that “Israeli” soldiers fired warning shots at him and two other reporters as he photographed the frontier at a border crossing southeast of Kfar Shouba.
He said eight “Israeli” soldiers then piled into a truck, drove through a gate in the fence, seized his camera and film and warned him to never return to the area.
Witnesses said that unmanned “Israeli” reconnaissance planes, known as drones, were flying over Lebanese territory at the time, in violation of Lebanese airspace. The incident occurred as “Israeli” soldiers erected earthen barricades along a road between two outposts located just inside “Israeli”-occupied Syria. It was unclear whether the roadworks were part of the process of ending the border violations.
The United Nations has reported six cross-border violations by “Israel”. The UN withdrawal inspection team, headed by UNIFIL deputy commander Brigadier General Jim Sreenan, continued inspecting the border from the “Israeli” side on Wednesday. No progress in remedying the violations has been reported so far.

168 on collaboration charges…(7)

“The trial of 168 people on charges of collaborating with “Israel” opened at a military court on Wednesday, bringing the total number of defendants to stand trial on such charges to 773.
The court, presided over by Brigadier Maher Safieddine, was expected to hand down its verdicts and sentences after midnight.
It questioned the defendants, most of whom were either members of or affiliated to “Israel’s” now-defunct proxy militia, the military court also listened to the closing arguments of military prosecutors and the defendants’ lawyers.
So far, 465 people have been sentenced since the trials began on June 5.
Most have received one-year jail terms. Up to 2,200 suspects were captured or surrendered to the Lebanese authorities after the “Israeli” withdrawal on May 24.

Footnotes:

1-     The Daily Star, 29-6-2000.

2-     Future TV, 28-6-2000.

3-     The Daily Star, 29-6-2000.

4-     AFP, 28-6-2000.

5-     The Daily Star, 29-6-2000.

6-     Same source.

7-     Same source.