Hezbollah Scuzzy Muzzy Terrorist Chief Threatens Israel!

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/lebanon/2008/02/14/72657.html

Hezbollah Chief Threatens Israel

Thursday, February 14, 2008

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The chief of Hezbollah threatened Thursday to retaliate

against Israeli targets after accusing the Jewish state of killing the

militant Imad Mughniyeh in Syria.

Hassan Nasrallah addressed supporters of the Lebanese Islamic militant group

in a videotaped eulogy broadcast on a giant screen at the Beirut funeral for

Mughniyeh, who was accused of masterminding dramatic attacks that killed

hundreds of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s.

"You have killed Hajj Imad outside the natural battlefield," Nasrallah said

in remarks directed at Israel. Hezbollah has long contended it only fights

Israel within Lebanon and along their common border.

"You have crossed the borders," Nasrallah said. "With this murder, its

timing, location and method _ Zionists, if you want this kind of open war,

let the whole world listen: Let this war be open."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.

AP's earlier story is below.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) _ Throngs of Lebanese came out Thursday for two

opposing gatherings: Hezbollah backers for the funeral of a slain militant

suspected in hundreds of American deaths, and their pro-Western opponents to

mark the assassination of an anti-Syrian former prime minister.

It was a showcase of Lebanon's divided soul, and it raised fears of violence

between the two sides, prompting authorities to deploy thousands of troops

and block major roads.

Hezbollah urged crowds to south Beirut to march behind the coffin of Imad

Mughniyeh, the group's former security chief who was killed in a car bombing

in Syria on Tuesday night. The funeral was expected to fully be underway in

the early afternoon as the downtown Beirut rally marking the third

anniversary of former premier Rafik Hariri's killing wound down.

Mughniyeh was a long-sought fugitive suspected in a series of attacks

against the U.S. and Israel, including the bombings of the U.S. Marines

barracks and two embassy compounds in Beirut in 1983-84 that killed about

260 Americans. He was also the suspected mastermind behind the kidnappings

of Americans and other Westerners in Beirut in the 1980s, including former

Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson.

"Let us make our voice heard by all the enemies and murderers that we will

be victorious, no matter the sacrifices," said a Hezbollah statement aired

on the militant group's Al-Manar TV.

Hezbollah and its top ally, Iran, have accused Israel of Mughniyeh's

slaying. Israel denied any involvement, but officials made no effort to

conceal their approval of his death. The United States welcomed it.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah _ himself in hiding because of fears of

assassination since the 2006 summer war with Israel _ was expected to

address mourners through a video broadcast over a giant screen.

Mughniyeh's death from a bomb that blew up his SUV in Damascus could raise

tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as with the militants'

allies, Syria and Iran. Some Lebanese figures close to the Shiite group

called Wednesday for attacks against Israel.

In Israel, officials instructed embassies and Jewish institutions around the

world to go on alert Thursday for fear of revenge attacks, and the army

raised its awareness on its border with Lebanon and in the Palestinian

territories.

Mughniyeh's slaying also could stir up more domestic turmoil in deeply

divided Lebanon, where the Hezbollah-led opposition is locked in a bitter

power struggle with the Western-backed government.

By midmorning, thousands poured into Beirut's main Martyrs' Square for the

third anniversary of Hariri's assassination, braving the rain and the cold,

waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader.

Crowds paid respects at Hariri's gravesite next to the downtown square as

his brother, Shafik, unveiled a statue of him at the spot where he was

killed, a few hundred yards away on a seaside boulevard.

A flame was lit and a taped message broadcast from Hariri's widow, Nazek,

who lives in Paris, urging against "falling into hatred" and calling on

"unity to save the country."

The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority had hoped a massive show of popular

support, perhaps by hundreds of thousands, on the Hariri anniversary would

force the Hezbollah-led opposition to compromise in a 15-month political

stalemate that has paralyzed the country.

The anniversary rally also meant to send a message to Syria to stay out of

Lebanese politics. Billboards on major highways called for supporters to

attend: "Come down, so they don't come back."

Hariri's supporters blame Syria for killing the prominent politician in a

massive suicide truck bombing in Beirut three years ago and for a series of

bombings and assassinations since. Hariri's assassination ignited mass

protests and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its army

from Lebanon after 29 years of control.

But statements from government coalition leaders offering condolences in the

wake of Mughniyeh's killing indicated that majority leaders were toning down

their sharp rhetoric, dominant in recent days, so as not to further inflame

tensions with the opposition.

Authorities deployed some 8,000 troops and policemen to protect the Hariri

rally and leading roads. Armored carriers took up positions on major

intersections, and additional razor wire was brought in to separate the two

sides on rain-drenched streets.

The U.S. Embassy encouraged American citizens in Lebanon to limit all but

essential travel Thursday. Across Beirut, businesses and shops put off

popular Valentine's Day celebrations for later in the week.

Mughniyeh's body was brought to south Beirut from Syria on Wednesday and

laid in a refrigerated coffin, wrapped in Hezbollah's yellow flag.

His father _ Fayez, a south Lebanese farmer _ as well as Hezbollah's deputy

leader, Sheik Naim Kassem, and other Hezbollah officials received

condolences inside a hall from allied Lebanese politicians and

representatives of militant Palestinian factions.

Mughniyeh was also on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists, and the

State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to

his arrest or conviction.

Besides his suspected role in the Marine barrack and embassy compound

attacks, he was indicted in the U.S. for his role in planning the 1985

hijacking of a TWA airliner in which a U.S. Navy diver was killed.

A string of kidnappings he was believed to have directed included taking

captive the AP's chief Mideast correspondent, Anderson, who was held for

more than six years until his release in 1991, and CIA station chief William

Buckley, who was tortured by his captors and killed in 1985.

Israel accused Mughniyeh of involvement in the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the

Israeli embassy and a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, attacks that killed

more than 100 people.

He vanished in the early 1990s, reportedly undergoing plastic surgery and

moving between Lebanon, Syria and Iran on fake passports.