LEBANON: BEIRUT: SHEIK HASSAN NASRALLAH INTERVIEW

(7 Apr 1997) Arabic/Eng The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah says he's confident Israel will eventually be driven out of southern Lebanon. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Hezbollah militia, was speaking during an interview with APTV in Beirut on Sunday. Nasrallah says he has a weapon the Israelis can't match - suicide operations. The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, or Party of God, has pledged to drive Israel out of the enclave it has occupied in southern Lebanon since 1985. The Israelis have deployed fighter jets, helicopter gunships and other high-technology weaponry. In addition to one-thousand, five-hundred Israeli troops and two-thousand, five-hundred Lebanese militia allies on the ground in the south, Israel is believed to send special commando units into the area to fight against Hezbollah. But according to Hezbollah, Israel will never match its commitment. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) “The aggressive mentality of the Israeli Government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu drove us to consider all the probabilities might rise of any Israeli assault. We cannot pretend before hand any aggression might take place“. SUPER CAPTION: Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) “I'm confident Israel would be driven out of southern Lebanon because the guerrillas have a weapon the Israelis can't match - suicide operations.“ SUPER CAPTION: Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah Even Israel's hard-line prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has acknowledged Hezbollah's persistence. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) “Anyhow we are looking forward for development on the Palestinian track, we have fear in the future that Netanyahu might find himself obliged to go forward to the Lebanese front“. SUPER CAPTION: Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) “We are superior in faith, will, courage and the love of martyrdom. I don't think there is Hezbollah party somewhere else outside Lebanon.“ SUPER CAPTION: Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah The guerrillas have killed more than 170 Israeli soldiers in the south since 1985, when Israel set up the “security zone“ with the announced aim of protecting its northern communities from cross-border guerrilla raids. Israel has long accused Iran of providing Hezbollah with weapons. But Nasrallah denied this, saying Iran's aid was only humanitarian. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: