Hizbullah secretary general expects Israeli withdrawal from Jezzine, Hasbia

Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hizbullah, said in his statements yesterday on the anniversary of the resistance's martyrs that "The Israeli speech about withdrawal is mostly directed to the Israelis (internal consumption) and might be in the framework of a political maneuver."

He added that the mere Israeli admission of being defeated and exhausted in Lebanon as well as taking the withdrawal as an electional slogan is a big victory for Lebanon and the resistance, touting this as an achievement that could not have happened without the resistance's sacrifices and the martyrs' blood.

He added, "Nobody can say a word on the question of the Israeli withdrawal in the near future," saying that a complete Israel withdrawal might or might not happen.

But he continued that a withdrawal from the Hasbia area and the rest of Jezzine is a certainty at a time when the poccupation militia flees in frustration.

He also said that the US secretary of state urged in her last visit the stop of the resistance operations.