Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was speaking to Al Mayadeen CEO Ghassan Ben Jeddou during an exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen TV on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Lebanese Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah on Monday, shedding light on the history of the resistance against the Israeli occupation.
The start of deterrence between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation started in 1985 when "Tel Aviv" had to withdraw earlier than planned from many areas it had occupied, Nasrallah said.
Since the July war in 2006, the Israeli occupation has become highly cautious regarding any action it embarks on against Lebanon.
"The Israeli enemy dealt with the border strip as a security belt preventing the freedom fighters from going into Palestine, and that is when deterrence began," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah underlined.
At the time, the Hezbollah chief said, deterring the Israeli occupation was a collaborative effort achieved by all the resistance movements that carried out operations against the Israeli occupation, not just Hezbollah. "The second phase of deterrence started through the actions of the resistance in the villages adjacent to the border carried out until 1993 when phase three began."
"From 1993 until 1996, a high level of deterrence was achieved," Sayyed Nasrallah explained. "The April 1996 agreement was the foundation of the victory in 2000, when deterrence manifested in various ways, including preventing the occupation from shelling civilian targets without any response [to its aggression]."
Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that the Israeli occupation realized, through the July war, that confrontation with the resistance was dangerous and that the resistance's capabilities were much more than just confrontations at the border.
"Since 2006, the enemy does not dare take any action against Lebanon," the resistance leader noted, noting that "Tel Aviv" was only resorting to run-of-the-mill operations that leave no mark in Lebanon.
Commenting on the Karish equation underlined in a speech he made two weeks ago when he sternly said: "When things reach a dead-end, we will not only stand in the face of Karish... Mark these words: we will reach Karish, beyond Karish, and beyond, beyond Karish," Sayyed Nasrallah said Lebanon now has a historic opportunity in light of Europe's need for an alternative to Russian oil and gas.
"US President Joe Biden came to the region for gas and oil, and the [additional resources] that Saudi Arabia and the UAE can offer will not solve the issue of Europe's needs," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah explained.
"The United States and Europe need oil and gas, and Israel sees an opportunity in that," he explained. "Biden does not want war in the region, and this is an opportunity to pressure [them] for our oil."
The issue is not about Karish and Qana, Sayyed Nasrallah said. "It is about all of the oil and gas fields looted by Israel in Palestine's waters in exchange for Lebanon's rights."
"The Americans distracted Lebanon with negotiations while Israel explored for gas and is preparing to extract it," Sayyed Nasrallah stressed. "The United States pressured the Lebanese state into agreeing to the Hoff line, i.e., the Israeli proposal for the maritime borders."
Warning the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said there were no Israeli targets in the sea or land out of the reach of the resistance's precision missiles.
"[Targeting] Karish or beyond depends on the Israeli enemy's decision along with that of the United States," he underlined.
"The Lebanese state made a major concession through what it asked for from the US mediator when it mentioned line 23+," he highlighted. "Right now, the ball is not in Lebanon's court, as it is prohibited from extracting oil and gas in the non-disputed area."
"What is required is a commitment to the borders stipulated by the Lebanese state and ending the veto on the companies extracting oil," the Hezbollah chief added.
"If the extraction of oil and gas starts in September before Lebanon retains its rights, we are heading toward a confrontation," he said. "We have set a goal that we will seek to achieve no matter what, and we will resort to anything to this end."
"The Lebanese state is incapable of making the right decision that would protect Lebanon and its riches, therefore the resistance must take this decision," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.
The goal today, he said, is for Lebanon to extract its oil and gas, explaining that this was the only way for the country's survival.
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