Mehr News Agency – Head of the Center for Political Studies at the University of Lebanon believes that the message of Hezbollah operation is that Israeli attacks and any aggression on the Resistance in Lebanon or Syria will not go unanswered.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon began escalating last Sunday, after Beirut accused Tel Aviv of carrying out a drone attack against the media headquarters of political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Resistance movement has shot down two Israeli drones flying near the capital Beirut. Hezbollah’s shooting down of the drones came just hours after Israeli forces tried to hit targets in Damascus in neighboring Syria. The missile attacks in Syria martyred two Hezbollah members, while the drone attacks in Lebanon left no casualties.
In this regard, the Secretary of Lebanese Hezbollah movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has reacted to the recent Israeli aggression on the Resistance movement’s positions in Syria and Lebanon, saying that the Israeli attacks will not go unanswered. He has also advised Israelis to remain on high alert after their attacks in Syria and Lebanon.
The Hezbollah leader said on Saturday evening that Hezbollah has enough precision-guided missiles in Lebanon for any confrontation with Israel, while warning that the Israeli enemy must pay the price for the recent aggression.
On Sunday, Hezbollah militia destroyed at least one Israeli regime’s military vehicle near the border area. Israeli regime’s military confirmed the report saying that several anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon, scoring hits, and Israeli forces were responding. To shed more light on the issue, we reached out to Dr. Talal Atrissi, Head of the Center for Political Studies at the University of Lebanon.
Following is the text of the interview with him:
Recently, Lebanese Resistance movement targeted a number of Zionist militias in response to Israeli drone strikes. What is the significance and message of this Hezbollah retaliatory operation?
The clear message of Hezbollah’s operation is that Israeli attacks and any aggression on the Resistance in Lebanon or Syria will not go unanswered. The Israelis understand that any aggression will be answered so they will not dare to attack again.
Another major issue is that Hezbollah has also advised Israelis to remain on high alert after their attacks but Israelis have failed to protect themselves. Hezbollah insists on threats and it will deliver on them.
Do you think Hezbollah’s attack will affect the popularity of Netanyahu before the Israel parliamentary elections?
Hezbollah’s response certainly undermines Netanyahu’s position in the upcoming election because he could not protect his troops. Netanyahu intended to show himself strong enough to protect Israel against Syria and Lebanon by carrying out aggression against Beirut and therefore, he must be elected in the upcoming elections. The Hezbollah attacks weakened Netanyahu in Israel.
What is the impact of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah’s threats and statements on the Zionist regime?
The attacks of Resistance killed and wounded the Zionists, and Netanyahu cannot ignore the reality. The results of Netanyahu’s attacks on Lebanon and Syria were not in his favor. Hezbollah declared and delivered on its threat. Hezbollah killed and wounded a number of Israeli troops in its recent attack, but Netanyahu failed to respond for a second time.
Can the recent clash between the Lebanese Resistance forces and the Zionists result in a major war?
This confrontation will not result in a wider war in the region because Israel avoided targeting residential areas when it bombed southern Lebanon. It means that the Zionists were reluctant to kill civilians in order to prevent Hezbollah from responding, as well as escalating clashes.
Netanyahu announced at a news conference the end of the military operation despite the readiness of his army. So all the issues show that the confrontation is limited and will not result in a longer and wider battle between Lebanon and Israel in the region.
Interview by: Mohammad Fatemizadeh
