Nasrallah: US backs 'racist Israel'
In latest tirade, Hizbullah chief slams US president, rants about 'Zionist occupation'
American President George W. Bush's visit to Israel elicited some harsh statements from Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah Wednesday evening.
According to Nasrallah, Bush views Israel "as a Jewish state, that is, racist...its existence is premised on race. Israel aspires for a racially pure existence."
In a televised speech on the occasion of the Muslim New Year, the Hizbullah leader spoke at length about Bush's visit to "occupied Palestine." Nasrallah said that "Bush arrived here as if he is the defender of freedom and democracy. If he goes back 60 years, who started the killings? The Palestinians didn't do it, and the Jews who lived in Arab states lived peacefully. The ones doing the killing were Zionist gangs."
'Fictitious enemy'
Nasrallah also slammed American media outlets and their "pro-American-Zionist allies" for presenting Israel as a symbol of democracy in the region. His comments were met by chants of "Death to America and to Israel" from the crowd.
The Hizbullah leader warned Muslims about "Bush the faker, who fails to protect the Arabs from the real murderer and instead argues that he wishes to defend them from a fictitious enemy. He is attempting to convince our Arab and Muslim people of a bogus danger. It's a deception."
"Oh, Arabs, hope is in your hands," Nasrallah said.
The Hizbullah chief also slammed the "Zionist occupation of Palestine," arguing that "this is the reason for all wars in the region." Referring to the Second Lebanon War, he said "Israel has the right to embark on war for two soldiers who were taken captive...yet the Palestinians are not allowed to fire a rocket on Sderot or Ashkelon. This is the justice of the strong and of the imperialists."
