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British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, speaks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, upon his arrival at the Beirut International Airport, Lebanon, Monday. (AP)
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| By Associated Press September 12, 2006 |
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Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah strongly condemned British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Lebanon, saying he was a partner in the killing of Lebanese, according to a televised interview aired Tuesday.
Nasrallah's comments on Al-Jazeera television came a day after Blair received a warm welcome by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Thousands of Lebanese demonstrated against the visit.
"Tony Blair is a partner in the killing, and then you bring him to my house to my family and you give him a great welcome. Don't those people have feelings?" Nasrallah told Al-Jazeera, in an excerpt of the interview. The full interview was scheduled to be aired later Tuesday.
As Blair and Saniora held a news conference on Monday, they were disrupted by an angry protester who accused the British prime minister of complicity in last month's Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.
Blair said during his visit to Beirut that he understood the anger in Lebanon, where many saw his refusal to break ranks with U.S. President George W. Bush's decision not to call for a quick cease-fire during 34 days of fighting as tacit support for Israel's offensive. More than 850 people were killed in Lebanon, most of them civilians.
"The first mistake of the prime minister and the political bloc that backs him is that they made an immoral and inhuman behavior toward the people who were killed or wounded or destroyed or displaced. This is regrettable," Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah has rarely appeared in public since the 34-day war began on July 12, after his militants captured two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanon-Israel border. He gave several interviews since the war began, two of them to Al-Jazeera.
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