Hezbollah played down speculation that a new war with Israel is imminent.
Sheik Naim Kassem, deputy chief of the Lebanese militia, said Sunday that he
does not think Israeli forces are ready for a repeat of last year’s war. “I
don’t think we can expect an Israeli attack imminently,” Kassem told the Spanish newspaper El-Mundo. “Its army is still shaken
by the defeat it suffered, But we are not asleep. Our military capacity is
ready.”
Asked about the nuclear
program of Iran, Hezbollah’s sponsor, Kassem predicted a U.S. military
intervention. “Judging by the attitude we see in the Americans and how they are
preparing themselves in the area, I believe an attack is probable, but I
don’t think Israel will take part. It doesn’t have the capacity,” he said.
