Hezbollah marks 'victory' over Israel

LEBANON'S Shi'ite group Hezbollah celebrates this week the anniversary of its "divine victory" in its war with Israel, as the country remains paralysed by deep political and economic crises.

"This is a great Lebanese national anniversary," Hussein Rahhal, spokesman for the militant group, which held out against the Israeli army for 34 days in July and August 2006, told AFP.

The blistering war that cost more than 1,200 lives in Lebanon and 160 in Israel, broke out when Hezbollah guerrillas staged a raid into Israel, capturing two soldiers in a bid to secure a prisoner swap.

Israel retaliated with a ferocious air, sea and land assault that left Lebanon's infrastructure in tatters and destroyed thousands of homes until a UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect August 14.

"This victory proved that Lebanon can defend itself and it greatly affected the Zionist entity which has since changed its top military leaders," Rahhal said.

One of Israel's stated aims in the war was to eliminate Hezbollah's capacity to fire rockets, thousands of which were launched at the Jewish state during the conflict.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which halted the war, calls for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon.

But Hezbollah said it would not give up its weapons as long as there was a weak Lebanese state incapable of defending itself from Israel.

"We have an enemy that is always ready to carry out aggression," Rahhal said, boasting that "we are always ready to confront any renewed attacks."

He said the capability of his guerrilla group to hold out against the Jewish state's mighty army "has proven that Israel is incapable of winning any battle in Lebanon or elsewhere in the region."

Apart from Hezbollah's celebration, no official events to mark the ceasefire are planned across the country, which has been in the throes of a political and economic crisis over the past year.

The army, meanwhile, is engaged in a deadly showdown with militants at a Palestinian refugee camp.

Social Affairs Minister Nayla Moawad told AFP the "Resistance has surely broken the myth of Israel's military might, but we cannot speak of a victory, whether divine or other, when Lebanon suffered so much destruction.

AFP