Nasrallah vows to defeat Israel if a new war erupts

Jan 15, 2010, 17:20 GMT

Beirut - The chief of Lebanon's fundamentalist Hezbollah movement, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, vowed Friday that Israel would be defeated if a new war erupts in the region.

'The resistance (Hezbollah) is being subjected to psychological warfare, but we will defeat Israel and change the face of the Middle East in the event of a confrontation,' Nasrallah said in a speech to the Arab International Forum for Supporting the Resistance.

'I promise you ... in any coming confrontation, we will foil the aggressors' objectives, defeat the enemy, achieve a historic victory, and change the face of the region,' he said via video link to delegates at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut.

'Lebanon has abandoned the myth saying 'Lebanon's strength is in its weakness' to the more truthful 'Lebanon's strength is in the solidarity of its army, people, and resistance',' he added

Hezbollah and Israel were embroiled in a 33-day war in 2006 which destroyed most of Lebanon's infrastructure and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Nasrallah said his movement had got where it was despite what he called the worst Arab situation and 'being stabbed in the back' by some forces.

'The resistance is still facing many threats topped by defamatory accusations of committing crimes, drug trafficking and blind submission to Iran and Syria,' he said.

Nasrallah was referring to a report published last week in the German magazine Der Spiegel, claiming his movement is using drug trafficking in Europe to gather funds.

Hezbollah is financed by Iran and supported by Syria.