Arabic original at:
http://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/phpfolder/loadpage_ar.php?page=14-07-2006/JOU214.html

Translated by Muhammad Abu Nasr

Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His
blessings!

To begin with, in this first address that I make to
you since Operation True Promise [on which Hizballah
captured two Zionist soldiers] and the events that
followed it, I would like, to begin with, to offer my
appreciation and condolences to the families of the
martyrs, those who gave the dearest of their loved
ones on during these hard and difficult days, and all
they have given in the noblest confrontation and
battle that the modern age has known or rather that
all history has known. I want to salute the wounded
and beseech God, be He glorified and exalted, to
sustain them, heal them and bring them health. I also
wish to salute our steadfast people in all the cities,
towns and villages who are standing firm and
immoveable, rooted in their land as they are rooted in
their faith. I also salute my brothers the
Mujahideen, the steadfast resistance fighters,
enduring hardship at their posts and in all our ranks,
ever ready for sacrifice in the path of what they
believe. They always have and always will regard
their own safety lightly and hold their heads high
with pride.

In this first address that I give in these days
following Operation True Promise, I would like to say
a few words – a word to the Lebanese people, a word to
the resistance fighters, a word to the Zionists, and a
word to the Arab rulers. I will not offer words to
the international community because I have never for
one day believed that there is any such thing as an
international community, just as many in our nation
feel.

First, I say to the Lebanese people: dear people – who
embraced the resistance, by whom the resistance was
victorious, and for whom the resistance won its
victory on 25 May 2000 – this people who were the
makers of the first victory in the history of the Arab
struggle with the Israeli enemy, despite the basic
inequality in forces, and in spite of the fact that
the majority of our Arab brothers and the majority of
our Muslim brothers abandoned us and despite the
silence of the whole world, this Lebanese people made
the miracle of the victory that stunned the world and
humiliated the Zionists. Those Zionists look upon
this people in a special, unique way because they
accomplished in the history of the struggle with them
a special and unique accomplishment. The battle today
is no longer a battle over prisoners or the exchange
of prisoners. It might be said that the Zionist enemy
is responding any time there is any operation where
men are captured anywhere in any part of the world, by
any army or any state that has borders and
regulations. What is taking place today is not a
response to a capture of their soldiers; it is a
squaring of accounts with the people, resistance,
state, army, political forces, regions, villages, and
families that inflicted that historic defeat on that
aggressive usurper entity that has never accepted its
defeat.

Today, therefore, this is a total war that Zionism is
waging to clear its whole account with Lebanon, the
Lebanese people, the Lebanese state, the Lebanese
army, and the Lebanese resistance, in revenge and
reprisal for the victory they won on 25 May 2000.

Dear steadfast, mujahid, and noble people, I know that
the overwhelming majority of this people, in their
minds, hearts, wills, culture, thoughts, love,
passion, and sacrifice are a people of nobility,
dignity, honor, distinction, and pride, not a people
of servility, subservience, submissiveness, and
surrender. I say to you that in this battle we are
faced with two choices – not “we” as in Hizballah, or
as in the resistance, the Hizballah resistance – but
Lebanon as a state, a people, an army, a resistance,
and a political power – we are faced with two choices:
either to submit today to the conditions that the
Zionist enemy wants to dictate to us all, using the
pressure, support, and backing it has from America,
from around the world, and, I’m sorry to say, from
Arabs. Either we submit completely to its conditions,
which means taking Lebanon into an Israeli age under
Israeli domination – in total frankness this is the
extent of the matter – or we stand steadfast. That is
the other choice: that we persevere, that we persevere
and confront. I, relying on God the Exalted, and on
my faith in Him and the mujahideen and in you, knowing
this people and this enemy, just as I always used to
promise you victory, now I promise you victory once
again. During the Grapes of Wrath in 1996, or the
clearing of accounts in 1993, in the beginning they
had the upper hand and our situation was much worse.
But today, the situation is different. Believe me,
and I mean this, the situation now is different. All
that we need is to persevere, stand steadfast, and
confront them united, and I know and I will bet that
the majority of our people are a people of
steadfastness, a mujahid people who can sacrifice, who
have no need for pep talks. What I’m saying now is
only by way of completing the idea, and affirming the
choice, and clarifying what this means.

Now, as for my words for the resistance fighters, for
my dear and beloved brothers: upon them rest the
hopes of every Lebanese, every Palestinian, every
Arab, every Muslim, every free and decent person in
this world, every oppressed, tortured victim of
injustice, every lover of steadfastness, courage,
dignity, values, and nobility – the characteristics
they embody by their presence on the field of battle
and in their fight with this enemy, the fight of
valiant heroes. I say to them: today, after God the
Highest, you are the hope of our Nation. You are the
symbol of our nobility. Our honor is in your hands.
This honor is yours and by means of you, our honor is
preserved. After God the Exalted, it was you who were
responsible for the victory of 2000. Today it is you,
before all others, who are responsible for preserving
the victory, for achieving liberation, standing
steadfast, and with honor. This places demands on you
that you, in practice, have proved until now and
during these days that you are entirely worthy of, as
you are worthy of our esteem. Those who put their
trust in you, after God, their charge is great, the
reward will be grand, and the mighty victory – a clear
triumph – is near.

To the Zionists, to the people of the Zionist entity
at this hour I say to them: you will soon discover how
foolish and stupid are your new rulers, your new
leaders. They do not know how to assess reality.
They have no experience in this area. You Zionists
say in opinion polls that you believe me more than you
believe your officials. So now I call on you to
listen well and believe me. Today we have persevered
despite the attack that took place last night in the
southern suburbs. However the attacks multiply in
every village, neighborhood, street, and home in
Lebanon, there is no difference between the south
Beirut suburbs, the City of Beirut, or any home in
south Lebanon, in the Beqaa, or the north, or Mount
Lebanon, or any corner of Lebanon.

The equation has now changed. I will not say today
that if you strike Beirut, we will strike Haifa. I
will not tell you that if you hit the south Beirut
suburbs, we will hit Haifa. You wanted to get rid of
that equation, so now we and you have got rid of it in
actuality. You wanted open warfare, and we are going
into open warfare. We are ready for it, a war on
every level. To Haifa, and, believe me, to beyond
Haifa, and to beyond beyond Haifa. Not only we will
be paying a price. Not only our houses will be
destroyed. Not only our children will be killed. Not
only our people will be displaced. Those days are
past. That was how it was before 1982, and before the
year 2000. Those times have come to an end. I
promise you those times have passed. Therefore you
must also bear the responsibility for what your
government has done, for what that government has
undertaken. From now on, you wanted open warfare, so
it will be open warfare. You wanted it. Your
government wanted to change the rules of the game, so
let the rules then be changed. You don’t know today
whom you’re fighting. You are fighting the children
of Muhammad, of Ali, of al-Hasan, of al-Husayn, of the
Prophet’s family, the Prophet’s Companions. You are
fighting a people who have faith such as no one else
on the face of the earth possesses. And you have
chosen open warfare with a people who take pride in
their history, their civilization, and their culture,
and who also possess material power, ability,
expertise, knowledge, calm, imagination,
determination, steadfastness, and courage. In the
coming days it will be between us and you, God
willing.

As to the Arab rulers, I don’t want to ask you about
your history. I just want to say a few words. We are
adventurers. We in Hizballah are adventurers, yes.
But we have been adventurers since 1982. And we have
brought to our country only victory, freedom,
liberation, dignity, honor, and pride. This is our
history. This is our experience. This is our
adventure. In the year 1982 you said and the world
said that we were crazy. But we proved that we were
the rational ones, so who then was crazy? This is
something else and I don’t want to get into an
argument with anyone. So I tell them simply: go bet
on your reason and we will bet on our adventure, with
God as our Supporter and Benefactor. We have never
for one day counted on you. We have trusted in God,
our people, our hearts, our hands, and our children.
Today we do the same, and God willing, victory will
follow. The surprises that I promised you will begin
starting now. Now, out at sea off the coast of Beirut
an Israeli military vessel that attacked our
infrastructure, that struck the homes of our people,
our civilians; you can see it burning. It will sink
and with it dozens of Zionist Israeli troops. This is
the beginning. There will be a lot more said before
the end.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of God!