Hizbullah vows not to stop fighting against Israel

The deputy secretary general of the Hizbullah party, Sheikh Naeem Qasem, said Hizbullah will not halt its operations against Israeli objectives in occupied south Lebanon during the expected negotiations between Syria, Israel and Lebanon.

In an interview published by the daily Financial Times and quoted by the Monte Carlo radio on Saturday, Sheikh Qasem said the US is trying to pressure Syria to end resistance, adding, "but it is in the interest of Syria and Lebanon that Hizbullah continue its usual operations." Sheikh Qasem stressed that Hizbullah will "fight until the departure of the last Israeli soldier."

For its part Financial Times said in its report from Beirut that Hizbullah is confident that negotiations between Israel and Syria will be resumed within a few weeks.

The paper quoted Sheikh Naem Qasem as saying, "All indications show the pressures made by the US on the Syrian and Israeli sides."

The paper added that Lebanese diplomats share with Sheikh Qasem his optimism after US President Bill Clinton received Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa.