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Jerusalem – During a meeting with an Egyptian academic researcher, Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah admitted that Iran is aiding Hezbollah with money, arms and training.
Nasrallah’s statements were reported by Professor Saad a-Din Ibrahim, the president of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies in Cairo, a sociologist and world-famous peace activist, who is known as a sharp critic of the Cairo administration. In the past he served two years in prison after having published a report on irregularities in the parliamentary elections. Approximately two weeks ago, he visited Israel, not for the first time, and met with academics. Yesterday, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai al-Aam reported Ibrahim’s account of the meeting he had recently with Nasrallah in Beirut. He said that the leader of Hezbollah asked him not to publicize the content of the conversation, but he broke his promise.
To the question of whether Hezbollah established a state within a state in Lebanon, Nasrallah replied, “It looks that way, but when the state is too weak to fulfill its obligations to liberate its land and return its prisoners, may the people, or part of it, not try to accomplish that? Because of that, the popular resistance has arisen against the outside occupation.”
Approximately 40 members of the ruling UMP party in France asked President Jacques Chirac over the weekend to “suggest that Hezbollah be added to the list of terrorist organizations during the next meeting of the European Union council.” In a letter that they sent to Chirac, they wrote that “with financing and support from Iran and Syria, the organization constitutes a grave threat to the possibility of a peaceful solution in the region. Hezbollah is responsible for the attacks and for the taking of the captives.”
In the past, the E.U. added Hamas to the list of terrorist organizations, but opposed pressure by Israel and the United States to do so regarding Hezbollah as well.
©The Bulletin 2007
