Hezbollah prepares to mark 2006 victory in Wadi Hujair

Rasa - Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement has begun preparations for Friday’s rally to mark the ninth anniversary of its “divine victory” against Israel in the summer 2006 war. This year, Hezbollah will hold the ceremony at Wadi Hujair in southern Lebanon.

News ID: 3137

Date: 13 August 2015 - 17:40

RNA - Hezbollah chief Seyed Hasan Nasrallah is expected to deliver a televised speech on the occasion, Lebanese Daily Star reported on Thursday.

The valley became famous during the 2006 war, when Hezbollah destroyed numerous Israeli Merkava tanks there with Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles.

A huge stage has been constructed for the rally, with a banner reading: “Your Victory is Ever-Lasting,” the slogan that has been chosen for this year’s event. Models of Merkava tanks are displayed around the stage.

The summer 2006 war lasted for 33 days, killing 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of whom were soldiers.

The square where the rally will be held has already been decorated with huge posters depicting such personages as late funder of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Nasrallah and a number of martyred Hezbollah commanders.

Hezbollah’s media official in the south, Haidar Diqmaq, told The Daily Star that the party had chosen Wadi Hujair as the site of this year’s ceremony because it symbolized resistance, even before the birth of Hezbollah.

“[The site] hosted the Hujair conference in 1920, which brought together various religious figures, politicians and resistance leaders to discuss means to resist French occupation,” Diqmaq said, referring to the two decades of French rule which followed World War I.

“The other reason is that it also symbolizes ... confrontation with the Zionist enemy, from the launch of the Palestinian resistance, to the birth of various Lebanese resistance groups, up to the liberation of southern Lebanon in 2000.”

Israel withdrew its troops from most of southern Lebanon in May 2000 after occupying the region for over two decades.

Diqmaq said that Wadi Hujair was the site of “thousands” of resistance operations against Israeli outposts that were scattered among the surrounding hills.

“The enemy sustained huge losses among its ranks during its three decades [of occupation] and Wadi Hujair stood witness to sacrifices made by resistance fighters – dozens of martyrs, wounded and prisoners.”

Describing one episode of resistance in Wadi Hujair, Diqmaq said that with Israel failing to achieve any victory in the latter stages of the 2006 war, it decided to send tanks through the valley to the Litani River in order to proclaim victory.

“But the heroic performance of the resistance, who destroyed over 54 Merkava tanks in Wadi Hujair – an act described as a tank massacre – forced the enemy to retreat,” Diqmaq said.

Ali Zein, head of the Municipal Union of Jabal Amel, added that choosing Wadi Hujair to mark the occasion is intended to honor the villagers of the area, who suffered for a long time under Israeli occupation.

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