After a month-long fierce resistance from the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, Israel started Tuesday withdrawing from southern Lebanon and is set to hand over the first of its captured positions to the UN-supported Lebanese army.
Army officials said they expect the evacuation of the remaining Israeli occupying forces from Lebanon by next week, ending the unjustified operation that began on July 12 following a successful Hezbollah operation in which two Israel soldiers were captured by the Lebanese resistance movement.
Israel is also expected to release many of the thousands of reserve troops called up for the conflict, signaling an end to its largest mobilization in many years.
“We are making every effort to thin the ranks of reservists, and to return as many civilians as possible to their homes,” the deputy chief of the northern command, Brig. Gen. Shuki Shichrur, told Army Radio.
In an attempt to cover Israel’s disgraceful defeat in this war, despite the sophisticated weaponry it received from Washington, the U.S. President George W. Bush claimed Monday that Israel has defeated Hezbollah, again pointing the finger of blame for the conflict which has killed over 1,000 civilians, at the Islamic resistance movement.
Although the U.S. never denied steadily supplying Israel with financial and military aid, it had always demonized Arab states who aid the Palestinian or the Lebanese resistance against Israel.
• Bush claims Israel won the war
Yesterday, Bush repeated his criticism of Iran and Syria for aiding Hezbollah, facilitating its operation carried out last month in which it captured the two Israeli soldiers, which, according to the Israeli and Washington’s claims, initiated the bloody conflicted.
Bush insisted Israel has won the war.
"Hezbollah attacked Israel. Hezbollah started the crisis, and Hezbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis," the president claimed during his speech at the State Department, after meeting with his top defense, diplomatic and national security advisers.
Since this crisis broke out over a month ago, the American President made clear his determination to help the Israelis no matter what.
And yesterday, he reiterated his support to the Israelis amidst post-war struggle of words about who wound up on top.
"Hezbollah, of course, has got a fantastic propaganda machine, and they're claiming victories," Bush further claimed.
"But how can you claim victory when, at one time, you were a state within a state, safe within southern Lebanon, and now you're going to be replaced by a Lebanese army and an international force?"
• “Israel is an enemy”
On the other hand, the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech on Tuesday in which he praised Hezbollah’s fierce resistance against the Israeli occupiers, describing its fight against the enemy as legitimate.
"I say to all those who accuse Syria of taking the side of the resistance that this is, for the Syrian people, an honor," he said.
Assad paid tribute to the "men of the resistance" in a reference to Hezbollah fighters against the Israelis.
"This resistance is a medal to pin on the chest of every Arab citizen, not only Syria," he said, adding that the Lebanese resistance had "shattered the myth of an invincible army."
At least 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, have been killed in the fighting that broke out in Lebanon between Hezbollah and the Israeli occupation army.
Media reports said that the Syrian President’s speech prompted German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to cancel a planned visit to Damascus, arguing that President Bashar’s words were "a negative contribution which did no justice to the current challenges and opportunities in the Middle East."
But Syrian sources said that Steinmeier has canceled his visit due to "a difference in interpretation" on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the conflict in Lebanon and calls for disarming Hezbollah fighters.
There’s now a "new Middle East", President Bashar said, expressing hope in the region following Israel's defeat in Lebanon.
The Syrian President accused the Jewish state of not wanting peace, saying it has used the capture of two soldiers by Hezbollah as a false pretext for launching the month-long unjustified offensive that claimed over 1,000 innocent lives, mostly children and women.
"Peace would involve Israel returning occupied lands to their owners and restoring their rights," he said. "Israel is an enemy founded on the basis of aggression and hegemony."
"The peace process has failed. It has failed since its inception."
"We do not expect peace in the near future," Assad said.
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