A warning, talk of cease-fire

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 4, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - For the first time since war broke out three weeks ago, Hezbollah's leader threatened yesterday to strike at Tel Aviv if Israel attacks central Beirut.

"Let the enemy hear something very clearly: If you bomb our capital, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity," Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar. "If you attack Beirut, then the Islamic resistance will attack Tel Aviv. And it is capable of doing so."

Nasrallah said he was responding to threats from Israeli military leaders that they might expand their bombing beyond Beirut's southern suburbs, parts of which have been completely destroyed by Israeli air strikes.

But for the first time Nasrallah also offered to stop firing rockets at northern Israel if Israeli forces halt their attacks on Lebanon's infrastructure and civilians. After Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, Israel launched its most intense attack since it invaded Lebanon in 1982. The offensive has killed more than 450 civilians, crippled the country's infrastructure and cut off Lebanon from the world. At least 27 Israeli civilians have been killed by Hezbollah rockets.

"At any time you decide to stop your attacks on our towns, cities, civilians and infrastructure, we will not fire rockets on any settlement or Israeli city," Nasrallah said, addressing the Israeli people and government. "We prefer that, if there's going to be fighting, it be military versus military."

Israeli officials dismissed Nasrallah's offer, and they threatened to destroy the rest of Lebanon's infrastructure if Hezbollah attacks Tel Aviv. The city is Israel's economic hub and home to about 1 million people. Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital, although the United Nations and many governments do not recognize Israel's claim over all of Jerusalem.

Nasrallah also delivered his harshest criticism to date of the Bush administration and its backing of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "The ones who bear most responsibility for what has happened since the first day of this war - in killing, massacres and destruction - are Bush and his administration," Nasrallah said. "Olmert and his government are only tools that carry out the orders."

In his speech, Nasrallah, a Shia Muslim cleric, continued to act as the de facto ruler of Lebanon, as he has done since the conflict began. Nasrallah, 46, has given five nationally televised speeches since July 12 - more than any other Lebanese leader, including Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

Nasrallah's speeches are eagerly anticipated, giving Lebanese and Israelis an indication of where the war might be heading. In Beirut, cafes and restaurants fell silent last night as Nasrallah spoke for 45 minutes. In some neighborhoods without electricity, people crowded around television sets powered by small generators. His speech was punctuated by cheers and applause in the Shia areas where Hezbollah draws its strength.

Nasrallah insisted that 23 days of intense Israeli bombardment had not diminished Hezbollah's ability to launch hundreds of rockets a day at northern Israel. He noted that his fighters had fired more than 300 rockets Wednesday and 500 rockets yesterday - killing eight civilians and injuring dozens - to prove that its missile stockpiles and overall military capability have not been as severely damaged as Israeli leaders claim.

"All of your aerial bombardment and your ground invasions have not been able to stop our rocket fire," he said. "Even if you invade Beirut, you will not be able to achieve this goal."

The United States has branded Hezbollah a terrorist organization, but many Lebanese regard it as a dominant political force that cannot be eliminated from society. The group draws its strength from the Shia community, which makes up 40 percent of the population of 4 million. Hezbollah runs a virtual ministate, controlling the crowded Shia suburbs of Beirut and most of south Lebanon. It controls 12 of the 128 seats in parliament; and runs hundreds of schools, hospitals and charities.

"You cannot eliminate Hezbollah," Nasrallah said, "because our resistance is not an organized military or an organized government that can be destroyed."

Yesterday's events

Dozens of Israeli tanks pushed deep into the Gaza Strip and aircraft fired missiles at Palestinian militants, killing eight.

The State Department said the United States plans to help train and equip the Lebanese army so it can take control of security for all of Lebanon when warfare eases.

King Abdullah 11 of Jordan the U.S. and Israel that fighting has weakened moderates across the Mideast and, even if Hezbollah is destroyed hostility toward Israel is so high that another such group could pop up in Syria, Egypt, Iraq or even his own country.

At the United Nations, France circulated a revised resolution calling for an immediate end to hostilities and spelling out the conditions for a permanent cease-fire and lasting solution to the crisis.

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