Speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the fifth night of Ashura

I take refuge in Allah from the stoned devil. In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Most Merciful. Peace be on the Seal of prophets, our Master and Prophet, Abi Al Qassem Mohammad and on his chaste and pure Household and on his chosen companions and on all messengers and prophets.

Peace be on you, my master and Lord Abi Abdullah, and on all the souls gathering around your holy site. Peace be on you as long as I remain alive and as long as night follows day. May Allah make it not my last visit to you.

Peace be on Hussein, Ali the son of Hussein, the children of Hussein and the companions of Hussein.

Brothers and sisters! Peace be on you all and Allah's mercy and blessing.

As in the previous nights, I would like first to talk a little bit about the developments in Gaza. Then, I will move to my topic for tonight.

So far, we are still witnessing the steadfastness and determination of the resistance and its bold as well as strong responses. Also we are witnessing the adherence of the resistance to the conditions it set, and this is very important.

As a result of the impasse they locked themselves in, the Israelis today are searching for a ceasefire and for going back to the status they were in before they perpetrated the crime of assassinating martyr Ahmad Jaabari. However, the Palestinian resistance is refusing this solution and is putting forth the conditions which are known by now and which have been tackled by several resistance leaders.

On the other hand – on the Israeli side – we notice that the bank of targets has either come to an end or about to come to an end. This is similar to what took place during the first four or five days of July War in Lebanon. No matter how much they talk about the bank of targets, it is over by now. Today there are targets which are being shelled for a second, third and fourth time in Gaza as what happened in Lebanon. Do you still remember? There were targets and buildings which were targeted one, two, three and four times. When the bank of targets was about to come to an end, rockets were still being launched from Gaza and targeting the depth of the usurping occupying entity. What are the choices before the Israelis now?

Hereof the Israelis started since yesterday going back to their brutal criminal nature. They tried to depict to the world during the first days that they are hitting definite targets and that they are evading civilians. However, since yesterday, shelling started leading in a clear intentional way to the killing of great numbers of children, women and civilians.

This in fact indicates that the military operation failed to achieve its goals. It expresses the nature of the Israeli enemy as well as the enemy's need to this kind of killing to pressure the resistance leadership in Gaza as well as its people, who back the resistance and its conditions, to give up these conditions. That means that the Israelis want to slaughter the Palestinian children and women and demolish their houses so that the Palestinians give up their rightful and natural conditions.

As in 2008/2009 in Gaza, and as in the Lebanese experience, the resistance, the people of the resistance, the men of the resistance, and the leaders of the resistance – Praise be to Allah – have transcended this stage of intimidation through which they may pressure on them through manipulating even friendly states and governments or through killing women and children and through massacres. This technique is turning back against them and is leading more than anytime in the past to their failure to achieve their goals.

There remains the Arab stance. At the previous night and while I was talking, the Arab foreign ministers were convening. We said we do not want to say anything before hand and let's wait until the statement is issued by the Arab countries foreign ministers especially that since the onset of the aggression on Gaza, there is a dispute in the Arab world, in Arab satellites, among political elites and among the peoples to the effect that did anything change in the Arab world following the Arab Spring and the Arab revolutions or nothing changed. There is more than one viewpoint as far as this point is concerned.

However, when we read the statement what do we find? Today I examined the statement issued following the latest meeting of the Arab states foreign ministers – i.e. two days ago -, and I also re-examined the statement issued by the Arab foreign ministers issued following the Israeli aggression on Gaza in 2008. They then met in 2009. Examine the two statements. The statement of 2012 is a replica of the statement issued in 2009. They are the very statement: condemnation, denunciation, support, sympathy, laudation and a call on the states and the Security Council. Well, there are two new points. However, see what they are:

The first new point is a call for the states to commit themselves to stopping all forms of normalization with Israel. So it is a call for the indisputable. That's because where do we find normalization with Israel today? Who is normalizing with Israel? Who are carrying on normalization with Israel? Things are now hanging. Moreover, the Arab states took this decision previously. There are people who are uncommitted and they claim they are committed to normalization.

Moreover and following all what took place in Gaza and the aggression which was started by the Israelis, the Arab foreign minister finally reached a decision to charge an Arab peace initiative committee which took place in Beirut with the aim of reconvening to tackle the stance and to reevaluate the Arab stance from the procedures of the announced peace process from all its aspects.

This is what was issue following the Arab Spring? Were we to expect more than this?

No, we had hope and we still have hope. However, we did not expect this because from the very beginning, everything was clear. Today, the Arab states are required to stand by Gaza, support Gaza, back Gaza, arm Gaza, and not to act as a mediator between the Israeli enemy and Gaza.

This is what we hope for. This is what is expected. Allow me to say a couple of words before I go to my topic for tonight.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of the Arab states are good as a "Red Crescent" only: medicine, first aid, calling on the wounded and the sick in hospitals, humanitarian needs…. Well, what does this mount to? A Red Crescent. That means that there isn't a political decision. There isn't a political entity. There isn't a political will. There is not a political leadership. There isn't a political existence. There is a Red Crescent. They also are good in funerals and Fatiha council.

Where is the serious real stance? We said what is required from the Arabs. However, where are the Arabs and where is the stance which is required from the Arabs to defend Gaza?

As I read several responses, I really could not but pose before this stance. Indeed, I am not saying this to express condemnation and astonishment. This is a lesson to the Palestinians as they carry on their battle as well as a lesson for us.

Indeed, we know the lesson by heart. Since 1982, we know the lesson of the Arab states. Thus in 2006, we were not disappointed because we did not have any hope. We were not frustrated because we did not have any expectations. Do you still remember the first days? I talked during the war. When I used to be asked what I want from the Arab states, I used to tell them: Nothing. We just want one thing… that they leave us by ourselves. Now too and in the days to come I will reiterate: We do not want anything from the Arab states. We only want them to leave us by ourselves.

They conspire and connive on Lebanon, Syria and the region as they conspired against Gaza and Palestine. My evidence is what one Arab Gulf foreign minister said. It does not befit me to say names. He was quoted in media outlets as saying: "We must not give the Palestinians more than we can do". He is fair and realistic. He means do not exaggerate on the Palestinians. Do not magnify their expectations because after all they will be frustrated.

We promise them of what we can do only, and the aids which the Arabs pledged to give the Palestinian brethrens will not be handed to them. He also mentioned that some Arabs partook in the siege against our brethrens in Gaza Strip. This is a good acknowledgement.

I have a big question which poses itself today. Despite the siege which some Arabs imposed – it is known who these Arabs are – how were arms conveyed to Gaza? How were Fajr 5 conveyed to Gaza? How were Grad rockets conveyed to Gaza? How were anti-armor rockets conveyed to Gaza? How were anti-planes rockets conveyed to Gaza? Who sent them? Who conveyed them?

This needs a pose. This needs a great question. Before talking about the states which provide us with medicine and money, let's see who enabled Gaza today to stand erect and to trust itself, after having trust in Allah, and thus to fight, make surprises, shell Tel Aviv and Al Qods, open fire on planes and warships and destroy Israeli vehicles?

Arabs acknowledge that they besieged Gaza. Here we must recall without courtesies the role of the Islamic Republic in Iran and the role of Syria.

Here I tell everyone that he who is not grateful to the creature won't be showing gratefulness to the Creator. With gratefulness blessings become incessant. {Should you show gratefulness, I will even bestow more on you}. However Allah in the Qoran says that only few of My servants are grateful.

Arabs today acknowledge this siege on Gaza. Moreover, the Arab FM himself says that the Arab states contributed to a great extend in the siege on Gaza on the various levels - whether on the land, sea and air levels - pointing out that the situation requires a wise political decision with sound procedures: money, medicine, and a number of political stances.

The true challenge, the real Arabism, the genuine Islam is that the Arab states own the courage to send arms to Gaza today before waiting for tomorrow.

The Israelis are betting that Gaza's rockets would run out. Brothers and sisters! Let's recollect together. During the Grapes of Wrath in 1996, we used to own Katusha. We did not have more than that. It was the beginning of Fajr3 and Fajr5. We did not use them then. We had some Katusha rockets and the war lasted for 16 days. I remember that during the last days of the war, Shimon Peres who was then the enemy's Premier said that they bet that the Lebanese Resistance rocket stockpile run out.

Today the Israelis bet on the running out of the Palestinian resistance rocket stockpile. Thus one of the most important obligations now is opening the borders and conveying more rockets to the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, because this is what Israel bets on now.

O Arabs who pay money, send arms, buy arms and dispatch ships stocked with arms to the opposition fighters in Syria, why do not you dare to send one bullet to Gaza? That's because Israel is there, the US administration is there, and the CIA will question them. This is their challenge.

Then the same Arab foreign minister was quoted saying a phrase which it is not good to remain silent on. He believes he may say whatever he likes as no one would comment on him because he has very much money. He said that most of the Arabs have become ewes.

No dear! If you have become ewes, you are to say so. However in Palestine, in Lebanon and in many countries in the Arab world there are lions and heroes. Let everyone speak for himself. Whoever sees himself a ewe may call himself a ewe. However, he does not have the right to say that most of the Arabs have become ewes. Never!

Yes, there are ewes in the Arab world. That is true. He is right in that. However not most of the Arabs have become ewes.

There are ewe governments. There are ewe political leaderships. There are ewe media figures. These are the ones he is talking about. However, for more than 62 years of the Arab-Israeli struggle, international conspiracy, official Arab conspiracy, and the abandonment of the Arab governments – most of the Arab governments – of Palestine, Lebanon, and the occupied Lebanese territories, the peoples are still resisting, offering sacrifices, making victories and achievements and offering blood. Moreover, Palestine, Al Qods and the Palestinian cause remained in the heart, awareness, and conscience of the peoples and will remain in their lives.

As for ewes, they will go where ewes go. As for the lions and the heroes, they are the ones who will make the future of this nation as they did it in the resistance in Lebanon. They made a historic victory in 2000 and 2006. They also made it in Gaza when they drove the occupiers away and defended it in 2009. Today too they are defending it.

This is the future of the region.

The future of the region is the future of the resisting steadfast heroes and not the future of ewes. It's not the future of ewes.

There is also a topic I heard them talking about in one media outlet. Some say very ridiculous things - allow me to use this expression. I watched one of the Syrian opposition leaderships talking about Israel's goal from the aggression. This is different from what I talked about in the first night. In the first night I said that there are Arab leaderships who said that Israel's goal from the aggression on Gaza is distracting the attention from what is taking place in Syria while it is not so. However what one of the Syrian Opposition leaderships said is worse, more ridiculous and absurd. He said that Israel's goal from the aggression on Gaza is punishing Hamas because it stepped out from the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis. See the lunatic, spiteful, hateful mind I talked about in the previous night!

He is a real genius! There are many similar geniuses in the Syrian Opposition. There are many geniuses like him. So Israel is punishing Hamas. He was talking about Hamas indeed. It is punishing Hamas, Islamic Jihad and all the Palestinian resistance factions as well as the people of Gaza. He does not see that.

This genius found out that Israel is punishing Hamas because Hamas – according to him – abandoned Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the resistance axis while it is not so. Thus Israel today is punishing it. Does a person with little rationality think as such?

Anyway, many things are being said these days. However, I wanted to say that the Islamic Republic in Iran along with Syria and Hezbollah did not abandon Gaza and the people of Gaza. As we were with them all through the past years we will remain with them. Here we are doing our divine, religious, moral, national and humanistic obligation no matter if we differ here or there over a definite political stance, or over evaluating a definite political stance…. In fact, the essential battle is this battle. It makes them all committed to stand by each other and not to abandon one another.