Nasrallah: Capture of Israeli troops was gesture of support

As far as Hassan Nasrallah is concerned, all the summit conferences and international diplomacy are part of the problem not the solution.

Yasser Arafat, he said, had chosen the path of negotiation in which he had given concessions far greater than any Palestinian leader should have made - and got little in return.

The meagre results, Sheikh Nasrallah said, were the real reason for the explosion of anger among Palestinians.

By contrast, the path chosen by Hezbollah and the Lebanese was one of resistance and sacrifice, and had led to victory.

Israel quit south Lebanon in May

The Hezbollah leader said young Palestinians had the same option: to fight to liberate their land from occupation, using stones, bullets or whatever else they could find.

As for Yasser Arafat, he should realise that banking on the Americans, and on international pressures, was a waste of time.

He should exploit the strength of his own people in order to achieve their rights.

Act of support

Hezbollah was ready to provide all kinds of backing, Sheikh Nasrallah said.

Any military involvement would have to be decided in the light of future conditions.

But the recent capture by Hezbollah of three Israeli soldiers and a reserve colonel was carried out as an act of support for the Palestinians, he said.

Sheikh Nasrallah said he was ready to free the Israelis in exchange for the release of all Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Contacts were going on through the Red Cross and the UN, he said, but the process was just beginning.