'Hezbollah's legitimacy growing in the West'

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:32:56 GMT | PressTV

Hezbollah says Western states should stop their support of Israel stating that the resistance movement has been enjoying increased legitimacy.

"In recent years, the Western perception of Hezbollah has changed. Even governments have started to look for reasons to communicate and have relations with Hezbollah ... This indicates that the Islamic resistance has convinced the West it is a popular, authentic and important movement that cannot be ignored," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Qassem (photo) ,said on Monday in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Qassem also noted that the more the Hezbollah resistance movement presents its image to the western public opinion, the more pressure the people of the West will exert on their governments to stop supporting Israel.

Hezbollah's second-in-command also noted, "Hezbollah has a single leadership. All political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership. The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel."

Israel fought a 33-day war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 to destroy the defense power of the Lebanese resistance group. According to a recently published Israeli report called the Winograd, the attack backfired and wreaked a humiliating defeat on Israel.

Turning to the US President Barack Obama's recent attempts to outreach Iran and the Muslim world, Qassem commented that he was skeptical about the US president's remarks.

"His ideas seem to support dialogue instead of military pressure and threats. But will America's policy toward the Middle East, including Iran, actually change? I am waiting to see his actions, not just his words," he commented.

Hezbollah's second-in-command concluded that Hezbollah is not carrying out any sort of military operations outside of Lebanon.