"The arm of resistance is long and its counter-attack will be beyond all expectations," Nasrallah

BEIRUT, November 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The leader of the Lebanese-resistance movement Hizbullah threatened Friday, November 21, to strike at the heart of Israel if Tel Aviv acted on threats to attack Lebanon or Syria.

"It is true that the Israeli air force is powerful, but if they attack our people or our brothers, it is our legitimate right to strike not only the (border) regions but anywhere we can," Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech to mark Al-Quds Day - the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Speaking to thousands of supporters, Nasrallah took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, branding him a "frog that looks frightened", ridiculing "his generals" and their "impotent army" as "incapable" of invading any Arab country, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The arm of resistance is long and its counter-attack will be beyond all expectations," he threatened, presiding over a military parade to honor the occasion in a Beirut suburb.

Israel has made repeated threats against both Lebanon and its neighbor Syria, following an October 5 bombing of a site near Damascus, the first such strike against Syrian territory in 30 years.

'Hatred Of U.S.'

Nasrallah also said the United States was the chief culprit behind attacks against Western interests across the Middle East.

Turning his attention to incessant violence in Iraq, and this month's bombings in Riyadh and Istanbul, Nasrallah said: "Hatred of the United States has not stopped growing."

"If you consider what happened in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq and elsewhere, condemnation must be leveled primarily against the United States, even before knowing who is behind" these attacks, he told the crowd.

"The fact that the United States propagates democracy in the region, does nothing to diminish its responsibility for instability and death in the region," he added.

"The United States is a serious threat to the stability and security of the region," he said, likening the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq with Israel's continued presence in the Palestinian territories, which would "lead to the destruction of the state of Israel", he said.

He also urged Arabs and Muslims continue to donate cash to the Palestinian Intifada that broke out in September 2000.

Hizbullah and Israel are locked in German-mediated talks to bring about a prisoner exchange deal, which could founder over Israeli refusals to release some prisoners.

But Nasrallah stressed his commitment to securing the release of prisoners in Israeli jails, "whatever the result of negotiations".

"If they (the talks) fail, we will do everything to obtain the release of out prisoners," he said.

The Israeli cabinet on November 9 approved a "conditional" prisoner swap with Hizbullah by a slim majority.