Let Ummah Stand Up for Quds: Nasrallah

BEIRUT -- Tens of thousands of people have turned out for a Hezbollah rally in southern Beirut called to protest President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The rally on Monday, one of several large demonstrations recently held across the Middle East to protest the move, was called by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The protesters marched through the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, waving flags and chanting in support of the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The rally came a day after a violent protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, where security forces fired tear gas and water cannons at rowdy protesters who pelted them with stones. The protesters were hundreds of meters (yards) from the embassy.

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement says the recent decision by US President Donald Trump to formally recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel has made the United States and White House isolated in the world.

Addressing the nation from Dahieh neighborhood of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Monday, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah pointed to massive rallies held to oppose Trump's decision, thanking all those who took part in them to show their loyalty to the resistance.

All positions taken on Trump's al-Quds decision were negative. We appreciate all those countries, nations and freedom seekers, who opposed Trump's announcement of Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel.

Trump believed that after announcement of his decision on Jerusalem al-Quds, the entire world would stand in line to follow suit, but all reactions from across the world, including European, Asian and American countries were the opposite of what he expected.

As a result of these reactions, Nasrallah said, Trump and White House have become more isolated among world nations.

He pointed to massive protest rallies held in all countries across the world, including in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, the Hezbollah leader thanked all participants, inviting them to continue their protests in all manners possible, including through the cyberspace and on social media.

Nasrallah also pointed to recent trip to Israel by a Bahraini delegation, noting that the delegation did not represent the people of Bahrain, but it represented the oppressive regime of Manama and had nothing to do with the people of Bahrain or its scholars.

 

He also thanked two nations, which had stood by resistance in voicing their opposition to Trump's decision despite huge threats they were facing, noting that those two nations were Yemenis and the Palestinian people.

The Hezbollah leader also praised the unity of Lebanon's people over the cause of Palestinian and the cause of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Nasrallah also pointed to a recent meeting by the Arab League in Egypt's capital Cairo, noting that special statements by the Lebanese and Iraqi delegates to the Arab League were a "cause of pride for us."

Nasrallah emphasized that the US decision on Jerusalem al-Quds was not an isolated decision, but it came in the context a regional plot to destroy Islamic nations, adding, "I had mentioned earlier that the US, which is backing Daesh, aims to destroy our societies in order to destroy the Palestinian cause."

The main goal of the United States and its allies, he said was to forge some sort of settlement between Palestinians and Israelis with support of some Arab regimes in order to put an end to the issue of Palestine.

"The whole nation must stand in the face of this American threat," he said adding that Palestinians must be the first in line to stand in the US face.

Addressing the people of Palestine, Nasrallah said, "If you hold on to al-Quds as the everlasting capital of Palestine, neither Trump nor anyone else can do anything other than that."

 

He added that the United States was not the sponsor of peace in the region, but it was the sponsor of war and terrorism, sponsor of Daesh, and the main enemy in whose face everyone must shout, "Death to America."

The Hezbollah leader noted that one of the most powerful responses to Trump's decision was to isolate Israel in all possible ways.

"We must put pressure on the Arab and Islamic states to repeal peace treaties and other deals with Israel. I call on Palestinians to kick out any delegation that aims to visit them from countries that have normalized relations with Israel, no matter what the background of those delegations is."

Nasrallah stressed that Palestinians were the final decision-makers in this regard and the resistance front would support them in all possible manners.

Hezbollah leader also stated that the most important response to be given to Trump was to declare the beginning of a new intifada, noting that "Trump's decision on al-Quds will be the beginning of the end of Israel."

Nasrallah also described Trump's decision as a act of blatant aggression against both Muslims and Christians, calling upon the entire Muslim world to stand up against the US plot.

"All those who seek to normalize ties with the Zionist regime (of Israel) will be punished by their own people," the Hezbollah chief underlined.

Nasrallah also stressed the independence and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian nation, saying no one could dictate dos and don'ts to them.

He called for a united strategy in the face of new threats from the United States and Israel, emphasizing that "Hezbollah will not abandon Palestine and al-Quds above all."