Hizbullah expects the "Divine Victory" parade on Friday to be the "largest in Lebanon’s history," according to the Lebanese daily A-Safir.
One month after the end of its war against Israel, Hizbullah has arranged a victory parade, which will begin in southern Lebanon and end in Beirut. The organization’s general-secretary, Hasan Na’srallah, is expected to deliver a public speech at the end of the parade, for the first time since the war begun.
Delegations from around the Muslim world will participate in the parade, Hizbullah sources told reporters.
Hizbullah is using the march as a tool to raise its popularity in Lebanon and the Muslim world at large. It claims its fighters, with the help of the Lebanese people, won the war against Israel.
For his part, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora dismisses Hizbullah’s role, and is saying that the victory was achieved "thanks to the men who offered their lives to defend their country… and also thanks to the diplomatic efforts deployed by the government." Siniora was interviewed on the Al-‘Arabiyya TV network, where he was asked if he would attend the Hizbullah rally. Siniora responded that he had not been invited.
Meanwhile, Israeli media outlets debated Thursday as to whether the Israeli army would try to assassinate Na’srallah during his public appearance on Friday. The army’s Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz refused to answer a direct question in this regard. However, Minister of Environment Gideon Ezra, who served as deputy head of the Israeli Internal Security Agency, told reporters on Monday that Na’srallah must be eliminated if possible.
"I believe no one in the Israeli side can miss this kind of opportunity," Ezra told the Israeli daily Haaretz.