March 30, 2009 Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)
Hezbollah senior activist Omar al-Moussawi stressed that while Britains policy toward the organization had changed, the organization itself had not: Hezbollah, he said, is one entity and no distinction can be made between its military and political wings, and will continue its terrorist activities (resistance) and refuse to recognize Israel. 1
1. Following the British decision to open a direct dialogue channel with Hezbollah, the organization made it clear that it would not become politically flexible in return. Particularly notable were remarks made by Omar al-Moussawi , member of Hezbollah's Central Council and former Hezbollah representative in the Lebanese parliament. His two main references to the issue were the following:
Hezbollah is "one entity" and no distinction can be made between its military and political wings
2. According to the March 12 issue of the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal , Omar al-Moussawi told the Lebanese television station LBC: "no one [i.e., the British] can say that made contact with Hezbollah's political wing and not its military [wing], because Hezbollah is one entity , and the renewal of the British dialogue [with us] marks a change in their position, not Hezbollah's."
Hezbollah will continue its terrorist activities and will not recognize Israel
Posting by Omar al-Moussawi on Hezbollah's Al-Intiqad website (March 16, 2009).
3. The following is a translation of the remarks made by Omar al-Moussawi (highlighted yellow) in the interview as they appeared on Hezbollah's Al-Intiqad website:
"We are convinced we will win the [Lebanese] elections and we are capable of running the country. We are not afraid of any international blockade, because after we win the elections there will be no boycott [of Hezbollah] by any factor. In fact, everyone is prepared to cooperate with the opposition [sic], as occurred in the past. [Various] countries have [their own] interests, and are not going to do [Hezbollah] any favors..."
He added that "proof of that is that today there is a tremendous openness toward Hezbollah, and after a boycott that lasted for many years, Britain has announced a new openness toward Hezbollah and a dialogue with it. [And that is] despite the fact that Hezbollah has not changed and still resists [i.e., continues to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel ] and refuses to recognize [the State of] Israel . It is the other side [i.e., Britain] that has changed, and retreated from its previous position after having discovered that by boycotting Hezbollah it cut off the dialogue with the central group in Lebanese politics and the entire [i.e., the Middle East]. By doing so Britain weakened its role [in the region].
