Nicholas Blanford

Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, Hizbullah’s southern commander, dismissed the pro-withdrawal
                 views of the Israeli officers as “nothing new,” adding that there was no suggestion of
                 an imminent unilateral pullout.
                 “There are no concrete and serious indications on the ground that Israel is willing to
                 end the occupation completely,” Qaouk told The Daily Star.
                 He suggested that the subject of the occupation would soon take a back seat in Israel.
                 “When there are no troop casualties, the Israelis forget about the occupation, as does
                 the entire world. Our operations remind the world of the occupation,” he said.
                 Resistance would continue, he vowed, until the Israelis left Lebanon.
                 “We’re now fighting for the freedom of our country,” he said. “But after an Israeli
                 withdrawal does that mean that we accept the presence of Israel beside us? Our
                 position on that will be made public at the right time.”