Nasrallah: War will change region’s face

YNet News (Link) - AFP (January 15, 2010)

Hezbollah leader slams Israeli �threats,� vows to defeat IDF in case of renewed hostilities on Lebanese border; Israel in trouble, Nasrallah says, promises �great victory� in case of war.

Girding for battle? Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed Friday to �change the face of the region� in the event of renewed conflict with Israel.

The Hezbollah leader said he was addressing perceived �threats� by the Jewish state. On Tuesday, Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak warned Lebanon and Hezbollah against any attempt to challenge the calm currently in place at the Lebanese-Israeli border.

�Faced with the threats that you hear today (...), I promise you that if another war breaks out with the Zionists�we will defeat the enemy, achieve a great victory and change the face of the region,� Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast on a large screen.

The Hezbollah leader was addressing the �Forum of Arab and international support for the resistance� at the Unesco Palace in Beirut, which is hosting delegations from various nationalities.

�Israel in real trouble�

Nasrallah said the future of the region was �strength, dignity, and freedom,� while slamming �Israel, occupation, hegemony and arrogance.�

�Israel is in real trouble,� he said, claiming that the IDF had been defeated by a �handful of resistance fighters and jihadists� and charging Israel with beating the drums of war.

Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was holding the Lebanese government responsible for any attack against its territory, calling Hezbollah a �real Lebanese army.�