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Nasrallah apologises for capture of Israeli soldiers

TameasDust	Date: August 28, 2006 @ 6:07 AM Nasrallah apologises for capture of Israeli soldiers PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY The World Today - Monday, 28 August , 2006 12:32:33 Reporter: Paula Kruger ELEANOR HALL: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has publicly expressed regret over the capture of the two Israeli soldiers which sparked the recent violence, saying he would not have ordered the operation if he'd known it would lead to a month-long war with Israel. In an interview on Lebanese television, Sheikh Nasrallah also said negotiations had begun on a prisoner exchange, although Israel denies this. The Hezbollah leader was speaking on the eve of a visit to Beirut by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss the expanded UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in southern Lebanon, as Paula Kruger reports. PAULA KRUGER: It was an apologetic Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who spoke in an interview on Lebanese television. He said he did not realise the capture of two Israeli soldiers would lead to such a war - a war that lasted 34 days, left more than 1,000 Lebanese dead and devastated the southern areas of the country. HASSAN NASRALLAH (translated): I want to be clear in my response, and I hope that people are listening to me now. We did not think even one per cent that the capture of the two Israelis would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude, and if someone asked me why we didn't consider this one per cent, I would say that since 1982 and our relationships with the Israelis and the experience of our resistance with Israel, the operation wouldn't lead to such a result. PAULA KRUGER: The Hezbollah leader's almost contrite comments may have been directed at the many Lebanese who have recently returned to their homes in the country's south to find piles of rubble - people like Ibtissam Alian, who lives in a village that overlooks the port city of Tyre. IBTISSAM ALIAN (translated): We came to see our house and, as you can see, it's totally burned. Now we're living at my brother's house. Thank God that the roof of his house is okay, otherwise we'd have to sleep on the street, as we have nobody else. I wish from all my heart that there is at least one soldier from the Lebanese Army, or UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), to keep us company during the night, because we're scared at night. PAULA KRUGER: The Lebanese Army and French troops from an interim UN force are nearby, but residents are becoming increasingly desperate for the international force to deploy so Israeli troops surrounding their villages retreat. It is an international force that has the support of Hassan Nasrallah, but only to a certain point. He says he has no problem with UN forces in Lebanon. The 15,000-strong force will be deployed shortly along the border with Israel. But Nasrallah says that force should not try to disarm Hezbollah. He says the Lebanese army has that right if they encounter armed militias, and hinted that Hezbollah may eventually lay down its weapons when the army is in a position to better protect people. While all sides still working their way through the delicate issues that will keep the ceasefire in tact, one outstanding element is yet to be settled, and that is the return of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah is here responding to a report that Israel is willing to discuss a prisoner exchange. HASSAN NASRALLAH (translated): We both now know that the problem of prisoners is clear and will be resolved through negotiations. I read today in the newspapers that the Israelis have acknowledged that this issue needs to be discussed through negotiations and a prisoners' exchange. The Lebanese Government is following this file and is ready to negotiate too. PAULA KRUGER: An Israeli official says no negotiations are taking place. Italy, however, has shown interest in helping both sides talk about a prisoner exchange, while tomorrow's arrival of Kofi Annan in Beirut has raised hopes the UN could also play a role in securing the soldiers' release. ELEANOR HALL: Paula Kruger with that report. http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1726167.htm
GeneHilbert	Date: August 28, 2006 @ 11:10 AM I don't believe Nasrallah for one second. He has no regret - because this is exactly what he & Tehran wanted. This is all posturing and positioning. To appear sympathetic and remorseful is a calculated response to save face with the Arabs. He got his ass kicked by Israel and they were pulling their punches. Syria got nervous; they knew they were next. Iran has war games to bluff & posture. Hezbollah to disarm – that will never happen… UN with Kofi Annan is a joke…..
EvilPicnic	Date: August 28, 2006 @ 11:59 AM Hezbollah didn't get their arses kicked, the Lebanese people did.
jack	Date: August 28, 2006 @ 12:03 PM Moved!

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