[ALMANAR.LB] Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah delivered a televised speech on Tuesday in which he tackled the latest developments specifically after the Saudi escalation and threats against Leb.His eminence pointed out that "since Saudi announced about halting the supposed donation to the Army, a wide political and media campaign in Leb and the region took off, and there was clear escalation in stances by Saudi, some Gulf states, and Lebanese sides. This escalation - which we barely commented on - resulted in a tense atmosphere in Leb on the political, media, and public levels which spread fear among the Lebanese inside and outside Leb."
"Many rumors came out and some Saudi TV stations broadcast offensive programs which led to developments on the streets. Since 19-2-2016 - the day when Saudi announced halting its donations - we entered a new stage in the political and media conflict with Saudi," Sayyed Nasrallah explained.
As a result to that, he added: "The other political party took action and had public movements and delegations as well as escalations and incitements, and statements from unknown sources were distributed claiming that Hezbollah intended to break into some regions and that Tareek Al-Jdeede was a target... In addition, Saudi and some Gulf countries prohibited their citizens from traveling to Leb and demanded those in Leb to leave for security reasons."Sayyed Nasrallah explained that the action that was taken by some people in response to the program on MBC helped in raising fear and concern among the Lebanese, however, he assured: "In Hezbollah, we are strong and content and we are in our best status since five years. We are not pressured, and we are concerned about stability, security, and civil peace."
His eminence considered that "when media outlets refer to such a low level, this would be an indication to their weakness. Anyone can wage a media campaign against us, but this level is too low and it indicates weakness," adding that "this level is not worth commenting on or responding to."
As for the reactions on the streets, Sayyed Nasrallah considered that "what happened was a normal and spontaneous response by some citizens who are loving and truthful. There could have been some violations, but the background of this action was out of love, yet this is not the right nor the appropriate way to respond."
He asserted that Hezbollah did not want to go into a clash with anyone and that it had no intention to resign from the government, considering that "holding on to it is a national responsibility as we are partners".
Addressing the youth who erupted into the streets in response to the video broadcast on MBC, Hezbollah secretary general stressed that "You don't need to go to the streets and I ask you not to do so no matter what the programs or statements against me or against Hezbollah were. We must seek effective and studied responses that would serve our goals rather than the enemy's goals... Israel, Saudi, and some other sides want a Sunni Shiite incitement in Leb. Are we supposed to serve them? Any action needs arrangement... and when Hezbollah wants people to go to the streets, I will personally come out and ask you to do so, but as long as we didn't ask this means there is no benefit in that."
His eminence further called on Hezbollah regional officials to "gather the young men who erupted into the streets and inform them that such action would not be effective," he further asked them to directly control such actions and to arrange with "Amal Movement" officials.
Regarding some inappropriate slogans that were raised, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that "in some places offensive slogans were raised against big Muslim figures, and this a major fault that the Supreme Leader Imam Ali Khamenei clearly prohibited, as he prohibited insulting, and anyone who is concerned about his religion should be aware of that."