Lebanon's Nasrallah vows never to make peace with Israel

Sep 18, 2009, 16:32 GMT

Beirut - The head of the Shiite Lebanese movement Hezbollah vowed Friday not to make peace with Israel even if demanded by the world community.

'As part of this nation and I swear in this holy month of Ramadan that we will not recognize Israel's right to exist. We will never make peace with it even if the international community demands it,' Nasrallah said on the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which marks the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.

'Recognizing Israel's right to exist is religiously forbidden,' Nasrallah told his followers, described Israel as an 'illegal entity.'

'We will not recognize Israel, neither succumb to it. ... It is a malignant cell that should be terminated,' he added.

'We do not want any confrontations but if Israel declares war on Lebanon, then we should take advantage of this threat and destroy and smash Israel,' Nasrallah said.

He warned also that any harm done to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem would lead to an unprecedented response regardless of any regional and international considerations.

The Hezbollah chief also criticized US policies and chided its efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.

'If the great US administration is not capable of pressuring Israel, then how can it promote a peace compromise in the Middle East?' Nasrallah asked.

'I believe the US administration is tricking Arabs to get more concessions and push the Arab world toward normalization with Israel,' he added.

Nasrallah reiterated that Palestine belonged to the Palestinian people and not to Israel.

The Hezbollah chief said his movement is not alone. 'We have Iran and this state has backed the resistance and the Palestinian cause,' Nasrallah said, thanking on behalf of his movement the Iranian leadership for its moral, financial and military backing of his movement.