'Paper tiger Israel can't fight Hezbollah'

Sheikh Nabil Kaouk

A senior Hezbollah commander has downplayed the remarks made by the Israeli regime threatening to destroy Lebanon in case of another war.

"The resistance is completely ready and Israel's threats do not scare [us]," Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, Hezbollah's commander in the south told the UAE-based daily Al-Hilaj on Sunday.

His remarks came shortly after, Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, a senior Israeli military commander, threatened Lebanon with destruction. Eizenkot said that Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah would need to "think 30 times" before giving an order to attack Israel.

The Hezbollah commander, however, said "Israel, which is frustrated by its many internal problems, is not capable of launching a new war against Lebanon," adding that Eizenkot's comments were nothing but propaganda.

"This paper tiger state will collapse at the hands of resistance fighters," Kaouk added.

The regime launched a military attack against Lebanon in summer 2006 but it failed to destroy Hezbollah's military power.