Kuntar vows to rejoin resistance

Thu, 17 Jul 2008

The Lebanese fighter (?), Samir Kuntar, vows to return to Palestine and rejoin the resistance following 30 years spent in an Israeli jail.

He expressed his longing to return to Palestine and said, “I promised that [I would return] to my family and all those who love me in Palestine. My brothers in the Islamic Resistance and I, are going back". His remarks came as he addressed tens of thousand of Lebanese who had gathered in Beirut on Wednesday night to take part in celebrations following his release.

Kuntar was released on Wednesday along with four other Lebanese detainees during a prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel after nearly three decades in jail. Kuntar was first imprisoned when he was only 16 years old.

During his address in Beirut, Kuntar also thanked the 'Hezbollah resistance movement' and its leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah for keeping his promise and making his release possible.

"A Zionist once said to me 'Samir nobody has been born who can get you out of prison'. Today I would like to tell him that God has brought many men to earth who can achieve what they want, men who do as they say and who keep their promises … the man I am speaking of is our leader, our loved one, our teacher Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah secretary general," Kuntar said as the crowd cheered.

Kuntar, who started his speech by thanking God for helping him during his time in prison, described the prison swap as a “day of freedom and victory”.

"We owe this day of freedom first and foremost to God and second of all to our martyrs who fell in the battle against the enemy. We owe it to you as well; you the supporters of the truthful promise," he said, referring to the Lebanese people.

Kuntar ended his speech by saying that he carried a message from prisoners inside Israeli jails, who call on all Palestinians to stand united in resistance. (PRESS TV)