No Recognition of Israel

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Updates...

13 March 2009

Hezbollah chief vows to never recognise Israel

Lebanon group "will never recognise Israel's right to exist".

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday his movement would never recognise Israel.

Hezbollah leader remains defiant on Israel.

"To those who impose conditions on us, we say: We will never recognise Israel," he said in a speech during celebrations to recognise the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.

"We reject the American conditions ... Today, tomorrow and after 1,000 years and even until the end of time, as long as Hezbollah exists, it will never recognise Israel," Nasrallah said.

A senior US official said Thursday he was unhappy with a British decision to open low-level contact with Hezbollah and suggested London only indirectly informed the new US administration ahead of time.

Nasrallah called for Riyadh and Cairo to "extend a hand" to Iran, Hezbollah's main backer.

He made the speech in honor of Prophet Muhammad's birthday.

Nasrallah said that "Hizbullah is on their list of terror organizations. Even our television stations and our aid organizations are on western list of terror groups, as well as many other names like Imad Mugniyah, myself and others. Today the United States comes and says to us: 'You are terrorists but we are willing to forgive you for the past, provided you recognize Israel.'

This is their entire story - recognize Israel and renounce violence - in other words, give up the resistance. Never. I tell them we will never accept Israel's right to exist on Palestinian land."

Hezbollah leader vowed that his party will never give up weapons and it will never end its armed resistence until the day Israel is demolished.

"They say that the United States is Israel's ally, but we say that God is our ally, as He was during the Lebanon war of 2006. It's impossible that we would recognize Israel. Only the cowards recognize it," Nasrallah said, in a sarcastic remark directed at Egypt.

"All Arabs should fight Israel. But whoever doesn’t wish to fight should at least not recognize Israel. As long as there is such a terrorist and aggressive entity like Israel, we will never be able to renounce the resistance. The resistance is our life, our glory, our sacredness and our honor."

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