## 15

## VICTORY

May 26, 2000

> After the collapse of US-led Syrian–Israeli negotiations in Geneva in March 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak strove to achieve an orderly withdrawal from south Lebanon that would finally comply with UN Security Council Resolution 425.1 Hezbollah, however, continued to mount attacks within the “security zone,” which had the convenient effect of both precipitating the SLA’s disintegration and further pressuring the IDF further to leave as quickly as possible. On May 22, in a movement apparently uncoordinated by Hezbollah, masses of Lebanese civilians pushed southwards, with some attempting to locate long-imprisoned family members held in joint SLA–Israeli jails. The IDF, faced at one point with a crowd near the small southern village of Meiss al Jabal overflowing with emotion, fired, killing several Lebanese. Recognizing that a bloodbath might be imminent, Barak informed a surprised Washington that Israel would be out of Lebanon within 24 hours.

> Thus, more than two decades after having first invaded Lebanon, Israel had been pushed out of an Arab country unconditionally and ostensibly by the force of Arab arms. From the perspective of Dennis Ross, the effect of all this on the remaining Palestinian–Israeli peace track, as well as the general situation in the region, was disastrous. “Suddenly there was a new model for dealing with Israel: the Hezbollah model. Don’t make concessions. Don’t negotiate. Use violence. And the Israelis will grow weary.”2

> For his part, Nasrallah’s speech to a joyful audience of over 100,000 people, Muslims and Christians, at the key southern border town of Bint Jbeil, provided a clear indication of just how the party intended to keep on fighting in the future: by contesting the disputed Shebaa Farms area that Israel would continue to occupy in the south after liberation; by pressing for the release of the remaining Lebanese captives in Israeli jails; and by encouraging and—as later became clear—directly assisting the Palestinians to carry out a range of violent operations, some against Israeli civilians. With Syrian President Hafez Assad’s death only weeks away, the collapse of the Palestinian–Israeli Camp David talks shortly to follow, and a strong showing for the party at the summer parliamentary polls, Hezbollah would soon take up an even more secure position of supremacy in Lebanon and in the region—a position Nasrallah would famously contrast to that of Israel, which was, he claimed, “weaker than a spider’s web.”

In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate,

On the day of resistance and liberation, on the day of the great historic victory, we meet here in the heart of the area that has returned to the nation and made the homeland complete. On that fortieth day of Abi Abdullah,3 [we] confirm anew that here blood triumphs over the sword, and has indeed triumphed over the sword and defeated it. Here too, blood has broken the chains that bind us, and has humiliated despots and arrogant men.

We meet here to celebrate the victory achieved by martyrdom and blood. When we speak of this victory, the liberation of our land, man’s freedom, the dignity of our homeland, and the self-esteem of our nation, we are bound to mention all those who have contributed to it. First of all and last of all, we, the believers in God, declare to the whole world that this victory is a gift from God Almighty, who has led us to the path of resistance. He is the one who has led us to the righteous path, given us enduring courage and internal peace, and made us love martyrdom. He is the one who threw the stone and hit the target, destroyed enemy bunkers and fortified positions, killed the mighty, and fashioned this victory. We thank him, praise Him, ask for his forgiveness, seek His pardon, submit ourselves to Him, and pray that He may complete our victory by liberating all the land, our brothers, and this suffering and oppressed nation.

When we talk about God’s creatures, we should first mention the martyrs, all of them: martyrs of the resistance in Hezbollah, Amal, and the Lebanese National Forces [i.e. the army]; martyrs of the Lebanese and Syrian Arab armies; and martyrs of the Palestinian resistance. We cannot but recognize that it is thanks, first and foremost and only after God Almighty, to the following martyrs that we owe our victory: the greatest among all the martyrs, Sayyed Abbas Mussawi; the Sheikh of all our martyrs, Sheikh Ragheb Harb; and our dear brother and resistance fighter who loved martyrdom, the mujahid Sheikh Ahmad Yahya, who died in the last few days. He was a pure and pious mujahid who insisted on being the first sheikh to carry out a martyrdom operation in the battle with the Israeli enemy. We have to admit to these martyrs—starting from Ahmad Kassir to Bilal Fahs and Ammar Hmoud—that their pure blood has made this victory possible, and admit it to the mujahidin in the resistance who sacrificed their lives and left their homes, families, universities, and factories and dedicated the prime of their lives and youth to warfare and jihad.

We also have to mention the martyrs’ families, the prisoners still in jail, the wounded, and all their families; we have to mention those who brought them up and laid the foundations of this path of jihad and resistance. We have to mention the imam of all the mujahidin and martyrs, Sayyed Ruhollah Mussawi Khomeini (May God Sanctify his Soul); we have to mention the first founder of the resistance on Lebanese soil, His Eminence the absent imam, Sayyed Musa al-Sadr (may God return him to us safely);4 we have to mention all the ulema5 who made sacrifices and worked hard so that there would be, here in Lebanon, a pious, struggling, and resisting population ready for sacrifice. We have to mention the citizens of the frontier zone who suffered, bore their pain, and witnessed tragedy; we have to mention the villagers on the frontlines who withstood bombings on a daily basis, the peoples’ stand on the side of the resistance, and the political forces, societies, personalities, political parties and clubs. We have to laud the official Lebanese position, especially under the presidency of President Emile Lahoud and the aegis of the present government of His Excellency Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss.6 In addition to Lebanon, two states and two men have to be mentioned, and their roles acknowledged: the Islamic Republic of Iran, Assad’s Syria; the leader Khameini, and the great Arab leader, President Hafez al-Assad.7

He who wants to be just and fair in diagnosing the truth has to acknowledge the position taken by the leader Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Khameini who supported, endorsed, and prayed night and day for these martyrs to achieve victory, and to recognize the position of the Islamic Republic, which stood by Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine and lent them its support. On the one hand, pressures and threats were brought to bear on them, and on the other hand, rewards and promises were dangled in front of them to compel them to abandon this support; but they refused, because it was based on ideological, moral, and humanitarian principles. Assad’s Syria, which protected, embraced, and guarded the resistance since its inception, and during all the difficult times, has endured a similar fate. Who can forget Syria in 1982, when it fought on Lebanese soil? Who can forget President Assad’s role in the July 1993 war or his role in the April 1996 war? Who can forget his strength and steadfastness in Damascus, when the entire world met in Sharm al-Sheikh to condemn the resistance, describe it as a terrorist organization, and defended Israel?8 Today, on this day of victory, on the day of resistance and liberation, I say thank you in all your names to every Lebanese, Arab, Muslim, and free human being who supported and stood by the resistance through his words, attitude, pen, money, prayers, endorsements, and smile.

The victory is, first, the liberation of a large part of our territory, a large number of our detainees in occupation jails, and the defeat of the enemy, thanks to jihad, resistance, steadfastness, and sacrifice. Today we enjoy freedom and security, and enemy warplanes dare not fly above your heads. I tell you, those who are afraid of dummy armaments, a toy, and a phony Katyusha platform in Kafr Kila,9 are so cowardly that they do not dare come to you on a day like today. We are standing here on our own land thanks to our martyrs’ blood, and to the people who needed no one’s help, neither the United Nations’ [help], which for 22 years failed to implement its own Resolution 425, the Security Council, the impure government [the United States of America], or [the help of] negotiations. Neither is it thanks to Barak’s government, which withdrew from this land because it had no other choice but to do so. These are the sacrifices which, for the first time, have totally liberated an Arab land through resistance and the force of arms.

The second victory lies in the way the enemy was forced to withdraw. You dictated the time, tactics, and manner of this retreat, and after it withdrew you proved that you are a people deserving of victory. The Israelis were planning to pull out several weeks from now, gradually hand over their positions to Lahd’s militia,10 and keep some of these positions, like al-Chaqeef and Dabcha, forts and a number of frontier posts, under their control. They thought that if the Security Council decided on what to do, and United Nations’ forces arrived to take over from them, they would withdraw peacefully and honorably and release our prisoners in Khiam jail11 as a gesture of good will on their part. But you rejected that scenario, and broke for the first time into Kuneitra, Deir Siryan, al-Kassir, and Taybeh and, in succession, towns were liberated, positions fell, and Lahd’s militia collapsed one after the other.12 In the span of a single night, the frontier zone was cut into two, and began to unravel. The enemy’s inner cabinet met and found itself facing a choice between two options: either reoccupy its former positions, confront the enemy and incur further losses, or speed up its withdrawal. It chose the second, and left in a hurry, leaving behind for you all these tanks, troop carriers, positions, and guns—which is evidence that what took place in south Lebanon was a total Israeli defeat.

You dictated the manner and time of the enemy’s withdrawal; you made the enemy drop its bomb in the midst of Lahd’s militia, he who was hoping that this militia would dig deep in its positions and open fire. Then the United Nations envoy came to negotiate with the state, and in return for leaving their positions it was agreed that these criminal and treacherous enemy agents would benefit from an amnesty.13 This issue is now over and done with; it ended in the most humiliating way for these agents whose pictures you have seen—pictures of their humiliation at the gate of occupied Palestine. You have also seen how the enemy has abandoned them.

After that, the whole world, including Israel, was certain that this region would not rejoice together at its victory and celebrate the liberation; they were equally certain that it would enter into a period of total darkness and endless civil strife. They thought that families from this village would exact vengeance on other families in the same or another village, or that one religious group would set upon another. The enemy thought that towns in this area would be destroyed like the town of Hanine,14 that blood would be spilled, and massacres would take place. But you proved, as did the resistance in perfect harmony with the Lebanese state, that the people, state, resistance, and sects of Lebanon are deserving of the victory they are celebrating today. After Israel’s departure, this region entered into a season of light, and emerged from an era of darkness that has lasted for 22 years—an era during which the citizens were oppressed and imprisoned by Lahd’s militia, whose relatives and families still live among us here. Despite all the destruction of houses and oppression, was a single one of them killed? I said a few days ago that when the Nazi army collapsed in France, the civilized French resistance executed 10,000 French agents without trial. The resistance in Lebanon, and Lebanon itself, is more civilized than France and the whole world. Was anyone killed here? Was anyone beaten? Was one drop of blood spilled on this entire land? This is the ideal image that stunned the world; this is our second victory.

First: this achievement and this victory have to be protected, bolstered, and strengthened; this requires more effort and sacrifice, as well as a great deal of humility on everyone’s part.

Second: we in this region have to prove that we deserve victory, and this is what we have done in the past few days. Do not allow anyone to interfere in your affairs in the coming days and weeks. I am not speaking about being apprehensive, but we live near an enemy that cannot abide all this happiness on your faces, for it is used to seeing them sad and in pain. It cannot abide the happiness in your eyes either, since it is used to seeing them weep. No one among you, neither Christian nor Muslim, should be fearful. I will not enumerate the villages and towns, but simply say: this is everybody’s responsibility; each one among you should be responsible. This region needs fortifying after all the darkness it has lived through, and this responsibility should be shouldered by its Christian and Muslim religious leaders, and by its political forces, institutions, personalities, intellectuals, and families; they should heal the wounds of every town and every family in this region.

Third: the fate of these collaborators is a lesson to all the Lebanese. This is a new experience for us: you saw how they were humiliated and how they blamed their leader for betraying them. The agent Antoine Lahd said, “We were faithful to Israel for 25 years, but it betrayed and abandoned us in the span of a single night.” This should be a lesson for every Christian and Muslim Lebanese: Israel does not care about anyone in Lebanon; it lies to the Christians and lies to the Muslims, while pretending to care about them. What Israel cares about in Lebanon and this whole region is its own interest, its own purpose and ambitions; in the eyes of these Zionists, we Christians and Muslims are mere servants and slaves to God’s chosen people. To strengthen Lebanon’s national security, it would be in the interest of all its religious groups to choose the national option and Arab option. To strengthen this particular region, these collaborators have to be brought to justice, held accountable, and most severely punished, to serve as an example for the future.

Fourth: I would like to make it clear on this day of victory that, as far as this area of the country is concerned, we in Hezbollah do not have any intention of replacing the state; we neither are a security force nor aspire to be one, neither are a security authority nor wish to be one. The state is in charge here; this region has returned to its control, and it alone can decide what to do: send security forces, reinforce police posts, or send other security apparatus. We do not bear any responsibility whatsoever for maintaining security in this region.15

Fifth: the responsibility for development and reconstruction: the amount of destruction in this region needs a state’s attention. Of course, we in Hezbollah have given blood and sacrifice, and we will share the mujahidin’s bread with the people of the area, but the responsibility falls on the state’s shoulders. The state should proceed on the basis that this region’s development is an emergency, and an extraordinary situation. The amount of development, reconstruction, and services required is bigger than any single institution’s or ministry’s ability; all ministries should therefore mobilize their potential and come here to assume their responsibilities. I mean specifically the liberated areas in the south and the western Bekaa or, more precisely, villages on the frontline that have, more than anywhere else, borne the brunt of the resistance by being on the receiving end of continuous shelling, aggression, and attacks. Furthermore, when we speak about development in this particular region, within the context of a wider development and reconstruction effort, we should not omit to mention the role that one particular area, namely Baalbekal-Hermel,16 has played as far as this resistance is concerned.

Baalbek, which saw the inception of the Islamic Resistance movement and embraced the mujahidin who came from the south and from Beirut, has endured continuous aerial bombardment; it has lost a great deal as far as its development and economy are concerned, and yielded up many martyrs from among its sons. It is difficult to find a village in the area of Baalbakal-Hermel in particular, and the Bekaa in general, that has not given martyrs for the cause of liberating the south and the western Bekaa. Throughout these past years, this area has suffered because it placed liberation at the top of its priorities; and because it was convinced, as we were, that this lofty goal was worth all the patience and endurance. The native of Baalbak-al-Hermel who gave his son’s blood to liberate the south has endured hunger and deprivation, and now the development of this region has to go hand-in-hand with the general regeneration effort in the area. We are talking here about an emergency committee for the two regions, if we really want to be true to the weak, the deprived, the suffering, and the poor among us who fought and made this victory possible.

Sixth: I would like to say to all the Lebanese people: you have to see this victory as a victory for all the Lebanese, not only for Hezbollah or for any other movement. This is not a victory for one sect and a defeat for another: he who believes or says that is wrong and ignorant. This is Lebanon’s victory. This resistance was a force for the good of the country, and remains so; when this resistance was victorious it became humble, and when it gave up martyrs it became humble. I am telling you: you will find Hezbollah, and in particular the Islamic Resistance, more humble than ever before, because we feel in this victory the greatness, strength, and might of our God. How weak we humans are: if we only depend on ourselves we remain vanquished, but if we rely on God, He is the cherished and the Almighty One. I promise you that this victory will not be used by anyone to the detriment of this nation, or any part of His dear nation’s population.

Seventh: Barak is today calling on Lebanon to consider the withdrawal a message of peace. This is treachery. He left having no other option—and now he wants us to consider the withdrawal as a token of peace, after having killed thousands of our civilians and no less than 1,276 martyrs from Hezbollah? If we add to them the thousands of martyrs from among our brethren in the Lebanese Islamic and national forces, what would be the final reckoning? In the wake of the death of tens of thousands of civilians in Lebanon, and the destruction of our country and economy; and while Barak still holds our prisoners in his jails, occupies territory dear to us—namely the Shebaa Farms17—welcomes the millionth Russian Jew and announces his readiness to welcome 1 million more immigrants in the next few years, he refuses to allow the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to return their homeland and houses. What message of peace is this that Barak talks about before threatening Lebanon with untold miseries?

In light of his threats, menaces, and promises, I tell you: Sheikh Abdelkarim Obeid, Abou Ali al-Dirani, Samir Qintar,18 and every prisoner in Israeli jails will soon, God willing, be back home among you. Barak and his government have no choice: I advise him to leave Shebaa Farms and put the issue to rest. The coming days will demonstrate that he has no other choice. We do not much care about international resolutions; all we know is that there is Lebanese territory under occupation that should be returned to Lebanon. The prisoners will come back, the land will be liberated, and the defeated enemy will have no other choice. As for Israel’s threats and menaces, they do not scare us anymore. They are the ones who sit today in fear along this frontier zone; they are the ones who feared the few women and children who stood at the iron barrier,19 and the stones that were thrown at them. Here in Bint Jbeil you are now secure and happy, while in the settlements of occupied northern Palestine they sit in fear of their unknown future.

Gone are the days when we feared Israel’s threats and menaces; they know full well that the days when their aircraft could violate our sky and their tanks our land are now long gone, and that any aggression on Lebanon will be met not with a complaint to the Security Council or with tears, but only with more resistance. Israel will pay dearly if it ever attacks Lebanon again.

Eighth: my fellow Lebanese, you deserve a great deal. You deserve liberation, the return of all the prisoners, the establishment of state institutions, this harmony between the resistance and the state, this sense of national responsibility, and this unity behind the nation. With our national unity we can confront all that is to come, and build for ourselves and for the next generations a nation called Lebanon—a new Lebanon whose strength emanates from its own strength, from its blood and its steadfastness. We can build a Lebanon whose strength is in its might, in its dignity and in its stubbornness in the face of hurricanes and storms; a new Lebanon for real communal living. No Muslim or Christian will ever again allow the Zionists to toy at will with us, with our next generations, or with our youth. The new Lebanon is the homeland of strength in the face of invaders, and of mercy in the way its citizens, groups, and sects deal with one another.

Ninth: we offer this victory to our oppressed people in Palestine and to the people of our Arab and Islamic nation; and from liberated Bint Jbeil I wish to address myself to the oppressed, suffering, and persecuted people of Palestine. Our dear people in Palestine: your fate is in your hands, you can regain your land with your own will, with the choice made by Izzeddin al-Qassam, and with the blood of Fathi al-Shiqaqi and Yahya Ayyash;20 you can regain your land without your enemy bestowing on you a corner here and a village there. You can allow your families to return to their homes with pride and dignity, without having to plead with anyone; you can regain your land and legitimate rights even if the whole world abandons you; put all these obstacles and pretexts aside. O, people of Palestine, the road to Palestine and your road to freedom follows the path of resistance and intifada—a serious and genuine intifada, not an intifada within the context of Oslo nor an intifada at the service of the helpless negotiator in Stockholm, but an intifada and a resistance that accepts only the restitution of all the people’s rights, as has happened in Lebanon. Lebanon refuses to allow even a small piece of its land to remain under occupation; we offer this lofty Lebanese example to our people in Palestine. You do not need tanks, strategic balance, rockets or cannons to liberate your land; all you need are the martyrs who shook and struck fear into this angry Zionist entity. You can regain your land, you oppressed, helpless, and besieged people of Palestine; you can force the invading Zionists to return whence they came, let the Falasha go back to Ethiopia and let the Russian Jews go back to Russia.21 The choice is yours, and the example is clear before your eyes. A genuine and serious resistance can lead you to the dawn of freedom. Dear brethren and beloved people of Palestine, I tell you: the Israel that owns nuclear weapons and has the strongest air force in the region is weaker than a spider’s web. O, People of Palestine: if you put yourselves in God’s hands, He will give you victory and make you strong. People of Palestine: if God is on your side, no one will ever defeat you.

To our Arab and Muslim people, I say: O, Arab nation, dear Arab and Islamic nation, shame, defeat, and humiliation are a thing of the past. This victory paves the way for a new historical era, and closes the door on what is past. Put aside despair and arm yourselves with hope; put weakness aside and arm yourselves with energy and strength. Today, in the name of all the martyrs and the oppressed in Lebanon, I ask the Arab governments at least to cease their normalization with Israel, sever their ties with it, and impose their own positions and will on the enemy. I also ask the Arab people to stand by Palestine, and reject all kinds of normalization with the enemy. Greater Israel22 has been defeated by the resistance; Greater Israel is being defeated by the resistance, and one of this victory’s important manifestations is the continued resistance against normalization with Israel.

From Lebanon, the victorious Lebanon, the Lebanon of national Arab and Islamic dignity, and the honorable Lebanon; from the Lebanon of sacrifice, resistance, and martyrdom, I salute all the resistance fighters who defend this country, and would like to tell them, tell the Islamic Resistance, the Lebanese brigades for resistance against occupation, the Lebanese resistance fighters of Amal, the National Resistance Front, and the people of Lebanon: my fellow Lebanese, we live in the proximity of a conniving enemy whose character is marked by aggression and terrorism, and whose racist character compels it to scheme constantly against us. We should always remain on the alert and safeguard our resistance, our army, our state, and our national and domestic unity, so that we can fortify this victory and prove that Lebanon is the bastion that can neither be beaten by storms or hurricanes, nor shaken by the strongest earthquakes.

Congratulations to the Lebanese, the Arabs, the Muslims, and the Christians, and all the oppressed people in the world; congratulations to the spirit of Imam al-Khomeini, to Mousa al-Sadr, the leader al-Khameini, President al-Assad, every Lebanese, every martyr, and every honorable Arab. Blessed is this victory that has placed the entire nation at the threshold of an era of future victories, and placed Israel at the threshold of future defeats.