Nasrallah pledges 'effective' action to oust government

Beirut: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised on Friday that his opposition alliance would intensify its campaign to bring down the government, pledging to mount an 'effective' action in the coming days.

In an interview with his group's Al Manar television, Nasrallah said Hezbollah's consultations with its allies were drawing to a close and they would release a statement shortly that spelled out the steps to be taken.

"I believe this action will be effective, very important and very big," he said. He would not divulge the plan but urged all Lebanese to support it.

He said the campaign would remain non-violent, as has generally been the case. One person was shot dead in a street clash, but the protests have been largely peaceful.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah would never use weapons in its political struggle in Lebanon, repeating that the group's arms were for fighting Israel.

He said the resignation of Israel's military chief proved that his group had won the July-August war with Israel, and forecast that the country's defence and prime ministers would also have to resign.

"It is natural and logical that [Israeli Defence Minister Amir] Peretz should fall. I expect him to resign. He will be the next victim," Nasrallah said in an interview on Hezbollah's Al Manar television station.

He predicted that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would also pay the price of Israel's failure to crush Hezbollah and secure the release of its soldiers in the 33-day war.

"In the end, [Olmert] will either resign or be overthrown," Nasrallah said.

The chief of Israeli armed forces, Lt Gen Dan Halutz, resigned on Wednesday, saying he had to take responsibility.

Asked about reports of the falling popularity of himself and Hezbollah in the Arab world, Nasrallah claimed there was a deliberate campaign to discredit his party. "We are not sectarian-motivated," he said.

Nasrallah sought to allay Lebanese fears that Hezbollah's campaign to bring down the government of Siniora, a Sunni, was aimed at replacing him with a non-Sunni.

"We will stick to the current formula," Nasrallah said, referring to the power-sharing system under which the president is a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister a Sunni and the parliament speaker is a Shiite.