.JPG)
Hezbollah is ready for another war with Israel but it will not start one, its deputy leader said in remarks published Wednesday. In an interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar daily, Naim Kassem warned that Israel will pay a high price in any future war. His comments followed last month's threat by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate with an open war against Israel for the assassination of one of his top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed on February 12 in a car bomb in neighboring Syrian capital Damascus. Hezbollah and Iran, its main backer, blamed the assassination on Israel, which denied any role. "Hezbollah cannot confirm (that there will be war) because it does not want to initiate it," Al-Akhbar quoted Kassem as saying. "The Israelis know they have to pay a high price in any war," he added.
Kassem also told the paper Hezbollah is well-prepared to face an Israeli, American and international war, possibly in reference to the recent deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon's Mediterranean coast; a move the U.S. has said was aimed at protecting its interests in the region.
In June 2006 the group seized two Israel Defense Forces troops in a cross border raid, provoking Israel to attack Lebanon. More than 1,000 Lebanese and 159 Israelis were killed in the ensuing 34-day Second Lebanon War. A 13,500-strong United Nations force and 15,000 Lebanese troops were deployed along the Lebanese-Israeli border to monitor a U.N. cease-fire after the war, which Kassem said would not hinder Hezbollah's renewed preparedness to fight Israel.
Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported to the Security Council Israeli evaluations that Hezbollah is rearming and has an arsenal including 10,000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range rockets in southern Lebanon. While Ban's statement did not confirm Israel's claim, the UN chief reiterated his concern about Hezbollah's public statements and persistent reports pointing to breaches of UN Resolution 1701, which bans weapons transfers to the militant Shi'ite Islamic militia. Ban also expressed concern over Nasrallah's threats of open war against Israel. In a statement released late Tuesday, Hezbollah criticized Ban's report, saying it lacked objectivity.