Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah's July 16th speech - full transcript

Peace be upon all of you,

It’s just as we promised in 2000, the age of defeats has gone and that of victories has come; these people, this land and this country which demonstrated an obvious image-

Today, it’s well known to the entire world (including friends as well as enemies) that it’s impossible to have this country defeated!

I liked to pass by you personally for greeting and salutation, but now I will go and let you enjoy an anthem; then, I will be addressing you via the giant TV screen. (as he was hugging the freed Samir AL Qintar along with his 4 friends of the resistance)


“In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Gracious”

Thank to the Lord of people;

Peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and his family members and well chosen accompaniers;

Peace be upon all Prophets as well;

Peace be upon all the gathering especially the representatives of the three presidents;

Salute Mr. President Emil Lahoud;

Salute to all religious men, leaders, ministers, parliamentary members, diplomatic representatives, official envoys-especially those of the Islamic Republic of Iran, brothers representatives of Lebanese and Palestinian parties, families of martyrs and released prisoners of war, all brothers and sisters;

Dear gathering, peace be upon all of you!

Welcome all of you in this great wedding !

Welcome Samir, Maher, Khodor, Hussien, and Mohammad

Welcome pure martyrs whose return will be celebrated tomorrow as we did welcome today the pure alive Lebanese, Palestinians and Arabian youths, this nation’s privilege.

In July 2006 a group of resistant men abducted two Israeli soldiers to liberate war prisoners- preceded by Samir- from Zionist prisons; today July 16th, Samir is back proceeded by the liberation of Nsim Nisir. Now Samir is back along with his brothers who fought for his return and here they are alive by his side as well as who martyred.

Is it a coincidence that the promise is fulfilled and the dream is interpreted in the very similar days of July?

Or, is it the governing , controlling and decision making will of God?

Every one will interpret it according to his beliefs. This timing adheres lost of indications could be explained by good readers.

How could we reach this outcome which seemed several times too hard to be achieved?!!!

The main and greatest factor that has led us to today’s achievement- which we labeled as the “Ridwan Operation”- is endurance and July 2006 victory adding to it the enemy’s failure to achieve any of its goals plus this failures consequences loaded upon its entity, leadership, army and people. In another words, if we had been defeated in July 2006, Samir and his bothers wouldn’t have been able to be back today; then, the whole region including Lebannon would have been lost in the American-Zionist “New Middle East” maze!!!

When House Speaker Nabih Berry was in charge of negotiating of this file, lots of pressure was practiced on him; he was a real participant in the conflict; however, it’s because the world turned deaf ears to Lebanon’s conditions and was just parroting that “the two Israeli soldiers must be unconditionally released”.

Together determination plus victory have made Lebanon and the resistance be standing on a solid base to persist our war-jailbirds and martyrs liberation process.

Now, we remember those who fought in that battle and were in the leadership, martyrdom, injury, challenge and front position – the first to be remembered is the great, brilliant, genius and pure leader Haj Imad Moughnieyeh.

We remember as well the tolerance and the stance performed by our people from all areas and sects;

we remember some governmental stances at that time;

we remember the patience of the people whose house and stores were destroyed and whose belongings were burnt;

we remember the hundred of thousands displaced people who beard being open to air for 33 days- and despite that they kept silent, uttering no complain, showing no weakness or hesitation!

Patience and victory are the most and primary factors that contributed in achieving today’s victory!

The second factor is the hard negotiations in which many subordinating factors were overlapping: the Israeli’s inability to get back his soldiers in any other way rather than negotiations- this particular failure was obvious as July 2006 war ended but non of his goals hadn’t been achieved yet- until he absorbed the fact that his two soldiers could never be back unless through indirect negotiations; the Israeli security and intelligence systems inability even to know whereabouts they are and what about their fates- this was among the strongest merits in the negotiations for if no flaw or tactic were disclosed by our team; otherwise, the negotiations direction would have been totally different.

The third factor is of a great importance: the Israeli’s fear of announcing the failure of the negotiations process or at least the probability of leading it to the failure that means another capture will be performed by the resistance!

It was the humanitarian factor that was pressing the Israeli; it was his incapability- even of the intelligence system- of getting his two soldiers rescued; besides that, his fear that when the resistance speaks, it does. The Israeli recognized that if what’s in the resistance hand is insufficient, another capture will be operated to get Samir back.

This was obvious in the Israeli internal discussions and in his ministerial sessions as the majority were delivering their votes and blaming each other for due to their overbidding they were consequently responsible of halting the chance of the release of Samir, Nasim and Yehyah in 2004; we told them in 2004 celebration of the war-prisoners return that you had reserved Samir AL Qintar but you would be regretful! Here they are regretted! They recognized if negotiations wouldn’t lead to today’s result that the Israeli would be in a place that I think they haven’t been ready for yet.

The fourth factor was Samir’s persistence and steadfastness. All along his imprisonment period, he has stressed to fasten the negotiations, but rather he was rooming us time to be able to achieve the utmost possible result for the rest of the prisoners of war as well. Besides that, the patience of the resistant men captured whom we watched in the “fabricated” trials; I would like to tell these youths today that I was listening to your words; I heard one of them when he was asked that whether he would be involved in another war if he was asked by this man (Sayyid Nassrallah), I heard him as replying if we see this man crossing the middle of the sea, so will I do with no need of his requesting; these words put in my eyes the tears of love of these youths whom could be changed by lashes.

The patience of the honourable and pure families of the alive and martyr war-prisoners families who put their trust and sureness in us and helped as they let the process taking its positive direction to reach its best possible end. Now, I want you to be aware of the qualification, accuracy and patience demonstrated by our negotiation-team who faced as long pressure as the end of the process and the announcing moment of its success.

In your names, in the names of the war-prisoner and martyr families I would like to thank this team who was practicing Al-Jihad in secret but under God’s observation and for his Almighty sake!

We have also to salute the great effort paid by the international mediator to live this outcome. I would like also to seize the opportunity to deliver my thanks to UN president Ban Ki Moon and his envoys to this region.

Today, War-prisoners Dean Samir AL Qintar is back to us along with all the alive brothers as well as martyrs whether who belong to Lebanese resistance or Palestinian parties and factions.

I want to admit that when Samir decided to be involved in resistance 30 years ago, Hezbollah wasn’t found yet. And when Dalal Al Moughrabi and her friends performed their highly brave martyrdom operation, Hezbollah was not born yet. But getting them back by the hands of Hezbollah is something that carries lots of indications among the most important is that the project of the resistance is one with one aim and fate despite the diversity of its structure, parties, groups, beliefs, sects, doctrines, intellectual and political trends- that’s firstly. Secondly; things being so assure that the movements of resistance in this region- particularly in Lebanon and Palestine- are in complementary; they share their effort and expertise, sacrifice that are continuously built upon each other to achieve the very same aim of liberating the man, the land and the wholly thing.

Dear brothers and sisters, standing in this particular celebrating the martyrs resistance that obvious all over these decades and remembering the sacrifice performed by Lebanese, Palestinian, Arabian, Muslim and national resistant men whom we pay all our respect; we pay our respect as well to the different resistant parties, factions and all martyrs who had proceeded us toward the battle of resistance from whose expertise and sacrifice we benefit; we do reserve their highly contribution performed in the past, at the present and in the future. In this context, I want to assure that the true, original, firm and well-rooted identity of this region and nation is the identity of the will and the culture of the resistance as well as the rejection of all sorts of lowliness or weakness whoever the occupiers, tyrants and dictators may be. That’s why the flag of the resistance has never fallen down all over these decades, but rather it has been transmitted from one party to another, one faction to another, under one title to another- this is the cover while the core is this nation’s truth which is resistance!

Some might feel tired, be killed, leave the battle free, or change choices; but God always determines that someone will continue the resistance. Now, we have demonstrations of all resistant groups and parties as models left for the interest of the coming nations and generations.

Our resistance in Lebanon is attempting to demonstrate a model that is complementary with the other models and that should be followed and spread all over the world even if we will be enlisted on the “terrorist list” fabricated by the terrorist states’ departments!!!

Now, I want to inform- as I declared in the last press conference- the other still Arabian, Palestinian, Jordanian and Syrian war-prisoners that despite the difficulties resulted from the regional political situation plus the real situation of the two Israeli soldiers captured with us they weren’t ignored during the 2-year long negotiations. The Israeli in its turn kept fabricating reasons for his inability of releasing other than Lebanese, but we insist on the inclusion of some Palestinians regardless of their names and numbers for the symbolism carried with in it. All our concern lies in getting them back to their families. We asked the Israeli to hand them to any one he chooses (to any leader, government, country and under any title or scenario, decoration or structure) for we are not concerned of attaching this success to us for we are not searching for a glory. Our utmost goal is the get them back to their families. What we could finally agreed about is that the exchange deal must include in its last stage a number of Palestinian prisoners of war regardless the total number or their names. This issue was then in the charge of the international mediator and the UN. My letters in which I address UN president and insist on the release of the greatest number of women, children and sick people will be published shortly afterward. I hope that something will take place and be achieved. To us this is a very symbolic and humanitarian step; we don’t expect great or huge results. Our Palestinian brothers know the reality of the difficulties, but we did insist on the symbolism imbedded in the inclusion of the Palestinians in this exchange deal led by a Lebanese resistance just to confirm the unity of the affair and the fate as well as the interrelation of the entire humanitarian and jihadi issues.

As we are celebrating the return of our prisoners of war, though this gather I would like to address the Arabian world, the hundred-million of Arabs, the milliard and hundred-millions of Muslims, the Arabian and Muslim governments-some of which are among the richest countries in the world, and some are having strong relationship with USA; I want to address nations to remind, in the anniversary day of the liberation of our war prisoners, about the still eleven-thousand Palestinian prisoners (including man and women), the tens of Jordanians, Syrians and Arabs. It is not permitted for the Arabian and Muslim worlds to remove their hands of responsibility and leave the Palestinians or claim that it is a merely Palestinian affair that must be solved only by the Palestinian government. It isn’t allowed to leave the issue on the shoulders of “Hamas”, “the Martyrs of AL Aqsa”, “the Islamic Jihad” or the rest of the resistant groups; This view is not correct in terms of law, ethics, religions and national or humanitarian conventions. Consequently, the entire nation must remind the pain of eleven thousand war prisoners along with their families left behind including all what they might be facing in life on the economical, abstract and psychological levels. All of this is taken place without changing a bit by the Arabian world. I am one of those who believe in the choice of the resistance; however, to all who sing the rhythm of diplomacy I say: let the Arabian and Islamic diplomacy along with the “great” relationship that some Arabian and Islamic countries are enjoying with the USA, let all of these pay an effort. There hasn’t been any real effort made on this level; there was recently some statement “but ineffective” in some conferences and meetings of foreign affairs ministries. Let build a serious framework on the official level and another one among parties, powers and movements in this nation; let both of them work each from its own position to help the Palestinians and let the issue of the Arabian and Palestinian prisoners of war a vital one in media, politics and diplomacy while some of us motivate it in the battle field in order to let all of these efforts in complementary with each other until we reach the desirable outcome.

Concerning Lebanon affairs, today the achievements seem to be completed and gathered in one day, after the end of July 2006 war we had two goals: the first was to release the prisoners of war through the difficult and complicated negotiations, and this is done today by God’s help; the second demand was the national government, and thank God it’s achieved. After the end of the war in the celebration of the victory we called for the establishment of the national government not for stickling reasons but to cooperate together in the building and protection of Lebanon. Today the first national government in the new age has this great and historical chance. Today, the national government met and had the memorial picture taken, and it has made the committee that will write the ministerial statement. This good luck is designed by God and not by chance for a believer in God doesn’t believe in chances, and all what’s going on in this universe is arranged by a great Will. It’s a good fortune that the new government meets and takes its picture for the first time and has the first has the first task of welcoming the liberated prisoners of war in the international airport of Rafiq Al Hariri. It’s the great fortune arranged by God for Lebanon and Lebanese. At this moment, I have to thank Mr. President Mishel Soleiman who organized and was in charge of welcoming the prisoners of war in this great national structure just as preceded Mr. President Emil Lahoud did in 2004. The whole country was in the airport and its surrounding. I thank Mr. Solieman for what he did and said. And I support every single word he said in his welcoming speech in the airport. I thank all current and previous presidents and official figures as well as all the representatives of sects and all who participated in this celebration. Again through the official scene in the airport- the scene in which the national Lebanese army and the resistance stands side by side and a martyr along the other- again through the public scene and the stance of the political powers. Lebanon has proved that it deserved the sacrifice of the sons and the blood paid for it. Today is a real celebration day upon which one has to build and establish. We call all to meet again, overcome the sensitive issues, be away for the ill will and benefit from this opportunity to solve all the main problematic affairs. All is willingly involved in the national government to effectively and seriously share and cooperate in solving the fundamental problems and relive Lebanon in the way that deserved the amount of sacrifice paid by its youth, women, martyrs, sons and prisoners of war. With the spirit of cooperation and solidarity, rather than the will of eliminating the other. Among what’s on the discussion table, I declare that we are mostly and entirely concerned in the liberation of the rest of our occupied land; we are also in Hezbollah open every discussion related to the National Strategy Defence (Shebaa farms, Kafar-shouba heights, and the parts of AL-Ghajjar). All we are concerned about is the liberation of our land, water and sovereignty as well as our people and their dignity and security. We insist on holding this discussion.

We insist that all participate in this discussion for the protection of our country. It’s the government that must bear responsibility of protecting this country. Let’s get out of the bargaining who’s monopolizing the resistance as if it’s a delicious meal. People including those believers usually escape form fighting:

(In the Name of Allah, you have been assigned to fight although it’s undesirable for you.)

People usually like to be involved in cultural, economical, political, trade activities. But when you invite them to participate in fighting, injuries, sacrifice, hunger, getting imprisoned, climbing hills and go to canyons, for sure they would refuse. For that we are envied for? Is it for our youths in the enemy’s jail and we are bringing them back? Are we envied that our youths have lost their spring ages defending this homeland and now we are bringing their corps back? I insist today that all must participate in the defence of this country and the one who turns his back to this duty is the disloyal one. We are ready to cooperate in the treatment of all the national files in the way that saves Lebanon’s unity and let this country passes over its crises.

In the few coming days the fate of the missed and the identity of the martyrs remaining be clarified; we are waiting to build on reports of the international mediator about the four Iranians.

In the freedom, liberation and resistance day I want to say that we must not forget the leader of the prisoners of war and the Imam of the freedom, liberation and the resistance Sayyid Moussa AL Sadr (God help to return them back in safety). Now Samir is known as the senior of the prisoners of war for he had spent 30 years in the zionist jail meanwhile another 30 years has been gone and Sayyid AL Sadr is absentee. As I said in 2004 liberation day, we don’t want to be involved in a conflict or an enmity against any one.

We want to enclose all the painful, saddening and critical files and this intersect with the interest of the Arabian and Muslim countries; it’s time to have this file reaching the end of the tunnel; I said years ago in a general meeting that if he is alive get him back, and if he’s dead, let us know and get us back his pure corps for martyrdom is the feature of his family. It is not allowed that the issue of Imam AL Sadr still be circled with all this ambiguity, ignorance and continuous delay. I am aware of the sensitivity that prevails the Arabian official relationships, we remind about the issue of the founder of the resistance in Lebanon; I call for a real and serious Arabian and Islamic cooperation to have this file done and get the Imam along with his two friends back to Lebanon and the nation as well.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear liberated war-prisoners, the families of the war prisoners and martyrs that are waiting for their loving people tomorrow, dear gathering, I address you in this celebration day to congratulate you for your victory which is your own triumph, your accomplishment, your promise, your doing, your own patience; by you we win; by you we impose defeat on our enemy; by you we are able to continue the movement and get the glory for our country and nation! We ask God liberation for all the remaining captured, and that Lebanon will treat this file as he did today, especially concerning Samir AL Qintar whom must be deal with as a real countrywide, national, humanitarian, civilized and jihadi treasury; he must be treated in a way that equals the patience, aggressiveness, crisis he lived and all the steadfastness he showed.

The entire liberation for all prisoners; the entire mercy for all the martyrs, the entire victory for you; the entire honour and glory for Lebanon, Palestine and the nation.