BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said in comments broadcast on Tuesday that his movement supports efforts to reach a ceasefire for Lebanon, but for the first time omitted any mention of a Gaza truce deal as a pre-condition to halting the group's fire on Israel.Qassem said Hezbollah supported efforts by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a halt to fighting, which has escalated in recent weeks with Israeli ground incursions and the killing of some of Hezbollah's top leaders, including secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah."We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire," Qassem said in a 30-minute televised address.
Berri is a Hezbollah lackey, so it is Hezbollah that is implicitly decoupling Hezbollah actions from Gaza, not the Lebanese government. Qassem wants to save Hezbollah, and his own life.
But for an entire year Hezbollah has been claiming that it is only shooting towards Israel to support Gaza. How can it now say that it wants a separate ceasefire when there is none in Gaza?
By rewriting history!
Qassem said in his speech:
This Israeli entity has proven to be a danger to humanity, Lebanon and the region. We announced the support front from Lebanon to achieve two goals: the first is to help in the confrontation to relieve Gaza and help it win this battle, and the second implicit goal is to defend Lebanon and its people.
This is the first time Hezbollah claimed that its attacks on Israel were meant to defend Lebanon.
It is such an absurd and transparent lie that only an Arab leader could say it with a straight face. But it is the only way Hezbollah can climb down from its tree - by now claiming that it must accept a ceasefire for the good of the very Lebanese people that it has turned into its own human shields.
It doesn't only reflect Hezbollah's panic, but Iran's too. Reports say that the instructions to consider a separate cease fire comes from Iran. They are hoping to avert a major Israeli response to its ballistic missile attack, and suddenly supporting Gaza is no longer so important to Iran.
How much more proof does the world need that strength is what is necessary for peace, not weakness? Israel's position has improved vastly in the past few weeks, and it is all because it took the offensive and signaled that it will not stop until it reaches its goals. It never articulated a goal to destroy Hezbollah or Iran, but its moves in that direction can help it achieve its goals of destroying Hamas, returning Israeli citizens to their homes, and hopefully to get the hostages back.
