Does Hezbollah seek Israel’s elimination? 'Not so,' says Nasrallah
Hezbollah leader says group will not open new front against Israel; Turkey’s two-front war; battles for Aleppo “unlike any others”; Saudi military exercise provides distraction.
Nasrallah maintains deterrence with Israel
Hassan Nasrallah appeared to signal a possibly pragmatic turn in Hezbollah’s approach to Israel in a speech Feb. 16.
“If there is now a consensus in Israel on this characterization of the resistance in Lebanon, does it mean that Hezbollah is opening a front and wants to eliminate Israel from existence?” the Hezbollah chief asked. “The reality now is not so.”
The speech, not surprisingly, was otherwise laced with anti-Israeli rhetoric and threats; nothing new there. But Nasrallah this time drew the line at both establishing a new “front” with Israel and threatening Israel’s “existence.” In practical terms, his remarks implied that Hezbollah would keep the Lebanese and Syrian borders quiet.
