On November 4, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “The popular and political reactions to the speech by the Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, varied between some who welcomed the fact that the Resistance leader did not act in an emotional manner despite the harshness of the Palestinian moment, and some others who were “disappointed” because they had been waiting for “firmer” positions against the Occupation…

“The delay in Nasrallah’s appearance was no ordinary matter. On the one hand, there was an aspect pertaining to imposing a mystery aimed at keeping the enemy worried. On the other hand, there was another aspect related to reaching a decision on the Resistance’s course of action in Lebanon and the region to defend Palestine and confront the Israeli Occupation as well as its Western, mainly American supporters.

“Away from the emotions and exaggerations, it should be indicated that Nasrallah was in no easy position with respect to what he could say to the Resistance-loving public. The leadership of the Resistance had failed to provide this public with the necessary explanations in the past weeks. This is a negative point against the Party because the people were left to fall under the massive effect of the enemy’s crimes and the tragedies against the people in Gaza. The people were also left to be the prey of some “excessive power” activists, journalists, and even politicians who appointed themselves as members of the joint operations room and behaved as if they were fully aware of all the ongoing details. Thus, they kept making extensive appearances, unleashing an unbridled imagination… In addition to Nasrallah’s long silence and the failure of the Hezbollah leadership to provide any explanations about what is going on, these elements served to sketch an image that caused the public yesterday to expect Nasrallah to declare the launching of the big battle.

“Nevertheless, the statements of the Resistance’s leader in Lebanon reflected to a large extent the joint views of the entire Resistance axis. The man is known for being the most powerful figure in this axis… He thus had to carry out the mission of re-explaining the facts in light of the ongoing events in Palestine… Nasrallah’s statements yesterday can be described as the political preface for a new course of action that the Resistance in Lebanon as well as the rest of the Axis’ powers will follow.

“When he clearly spoke about the two objectives of halting the assault on Gaza and seeking to achieve victory for the Hamas Movement and the Resistance there, he practically set a high political ceiling. This means that the Resistance has stepped into a new phase on the level of military operations, which is something expected soon. Nasrallah’s second appearance in one week on the anniversary of Martyrs’ Day might constitute an opportunity to discuss this course of action, the nature of the threats, and the working mechanism, in addition to preparing the public for the requirements of this phase on several levels..."