Despite Israeli claims that that Hizbullah was behind an ambush 2 kilometers south of the border in which six Israelis and two assailants were killed earlier this week, the Lebanese group denied any involvement in this attack, insisting that the Palestinians “do not need anybody’s help in their intifada against occupation.”
On Thursday, the Israeli media reported that the two assailants were either Hizbullah members or had been trained by the party. Hizbullah MP Abdullah Qassir rejected the new claim. “We have denied before and we still deny to have anything to do with the attack,” he told The Daily Star. “We are used to the Israelis and to their accusations that are not provided with any evidence. They prefer to cast accusations that are baseless.”
The Palestinians “have proved that they are a legendary people when they were able to perform operations that required security penetrations, such as the one near (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon’s residence,” he added, referring to the suicide attack in a restaurant in West Jerusalem in which nine people were killed on Saturday.
“Therefore, (the Palestinians) are able to reach any area,” he said, arguing that the Shlomi operation was carried out by fighters from within Israel or the Palestinian territories.
Asked if it was possible that Palestinian factions in Lebanon might have been behind the attack, Qassir said: “We say that we did not do it. Other than that, we cannot say anything.”
Also on Wednesday, Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, told the BBC that the party had nothing to do with Tuesday’s shooting and grenade attacks just south of the Lebanese border.
But Nasrallah did not rule out expanding Hizbullah attacks into Israel in the future if that would benefit the Palestinians. (Albawaba.com)
