Nasrallah says Rice mission to serve Israel

Sat Jul 29, 3:23 PM ET

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hizbollah's leader said on Saturday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice aimed to impose conditions on Lebanon and serve Israeli interests in her mission to end war between his group and Israel.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also pledged Hizbollah would launch rockets on more towns in central Israel if the Jewish state did not halt its bombardment of Lebanon, which has killed at least 469 people, mainly civilians.

Hizbollah has killed 51 Israelis since the war erupted on July 12, when the guerrilla group triggered the conflict by capturing two Israeli soldiers in a raid into Israel.

Rice, who has blamed Hizbollah for the conflict, arrived in Israel on Saturday for talks on ending the war. She has already visited both Israel and Lebanon once in the last week.

"Rice is returning to the region to try to impose her conditions on Lebanon again to serve her new Middle East project and to serve Israel," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

"The Israelis are ready to halt the aggression because they are afraid of the unknown," Nasrallah said. "The one pushing for the continuation of the aggression is the U.S. administration."

President Bush said on Saturday his country would work for a U.N. Security Council resolution to end the violence quickly and mandate an international force.

That approach would help "defeat the threat from Hizbollah and its foreign sponsors," he said, in reference to Syria and Iran. Nasrallah said Iran and Syria were still standing alongside Lebanon, its people and "resistance."

Israel, which has lost 33 soldiers in the war, was looking for a way out of the conflict because of losses inflicted by Hizbollah, Nasrallah said.

"The political events and attempts to find an exit to the crisis that we are seeing today are blessings of the legendary steadfastness of the resistance in Lebanon, of the Lebanese people," he said.

"It's clear the Zionist enemy has not been able to achieve any military accomplishment," he added.

"HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY"

"As for the destruction of the infrastructure, the killing of civilians and forced migration of people and destruction of houses, this is not a military achievement.

"It's a barbaric accomplishment which must not be allowed to be invested politically," he said.

Hizbollah on Friday launched rockets beyond the Israeli city of Haifa, 35 km (22 miles) from the border, fulfilling a Nasrallah pledge to hit targets beyond the port city.

Nasrallah said his group would fire rockets at more central Israeli cities if Israel's offensive in Lebanon was not halted.

"There are many cities in central Israel which will come into target range in the period after Haifa if the barbaric aggression on our country and people continues," Nasrallah said.

Rice is due to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora later in her trip. Nasrallah said the government must act in a way that reflected the steadfastness of the Lebanese.

"We are eager to cooperate with the government and with all political forces to present a unified Lebanon committed to what guarantees its national interests," he said.

"We are keen ... for the government be strong, to bear its responsibilities," he said.

"We must all know, that despite this destruction and because of the steadfastness of all, we stand in front of a historic opportunity in Lebanon to liberate every inch of Lebanese land, to recover the prisoners and guarantee national sovereignty."

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