AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Hussein Saleh, in an op-ed published in Al-Mayadeen, commemorating the life of the Sayed of the Ummah, the martyr Hassan Nasrallah, wrote:
In politics, words are many, but honesty in them is scarce. Promises made before the people and positions adjusted according to the moment and circumstances; but when the time of testing arrives, the gap between word and deed becomes apparent.
In the experience of the martyred Sayed of the Ummah, Hassan Nasrallah, this gap almost did not exist. From the time he assumed the Secretary-Generalship of Hezbollah in 1992, his word became tied to confronting Israel, adhering to what he declared before his people, and loyalty to allies. He went so far as to enter regional battles and considered them part of protecting the resistance and the region from fragmentation. This path ultimately led to his martyrdom in the Zionist regime's aggression in September 2024.
Honesty in Sayed Nasrallah's experience was not merely a personal characteristic that his admirers spoke of; rather, it became part of his political image: what he said publicly was what he adhered to on the battlefield.
From the Promise of Confrontation to the Martyrdom of His Son
The first great test was the martyrdom of his eldest son, Sayed Hadi Nasrallah, on September 12, 1997, at the age of 18 (he was martyred in a confrontation with Israeli forces at Jabal al-Rafi' in southern Lebanon).
After his son's martyrdom, Sayed Nasrallah appeared in a public speech, thanked God, and emphasized that the blood of leaders' children is not more precious than the blood of other resistance youth. This position left a great spiritual and political impact in Lebanon.
From the time he assumed Hezbollah's Secretary-Generalship, the conflict with Israel was at the heart of his political and military project. In May 2000, Israeli forces withdrew from most of southern Lebanon; an event that Hezbollah considered a turning point in the path of resistance.
In the famous withdrawal speech, Nasrallah said Israel is weaker than a spider's web; a phrase that later became one of the most famous statements associated with his name. But that speech was not the end of the confrontation, and the conflict led to war in 2006.
In the prisoners' file, the link between promise and action was clearly seen. Sayed Nasrallah always had the liberation of prisoners at the heart of his words, and this path led to two exchanges in 2004 and 2008.
Honesty When a Position Becomes Costly
The greatest test of a politician is not saying his word when saying it is low-cost; rather, it is remaining on his position when retreat becomes easier.
In Syria, Hezbollah did not remain in the position of an observer. In 2013, Sayed Nasrallah publicly confirmed the participation of the party's fighters alongside Syrian forces and called it defending the strategic depth of the resistance.
He said Syria is "the back of the resistance," and the resistance cannot remain idle when this back is in danger.
This was a very costly position, but Sayed Nasrallah did not present it as temporary or secret; he publicly defended it and accepted its consequences.
Iraq; Readiness to Pay the Price
With the emergence of ISIS in Iraq in 2014, Sayed Nasrallah did not see the Iraq battle as separate from the regional confrontation. In June 2014, he announced that Hezbollah is ready to send more fighters to Iraq and said he is prepared to offer many martyrs in defense of threatened authorities.
He did not speak of Iraq as a file far from Lebanon; rather, he saw it within a regional and integrated vision for confronting threats.
In Yemen, Sayed Nasrallah took a clear position alongside Sana'a and in his speeches defended the Yemenis against the war led by Saudi Arabia.
He placed Yemen in the equation of the "unity of arenas," and in this way, the map of issues related to the resistance expanded from southern Lebanon to Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Palestine was ultimately the title to which Sayed Nasrallah always returned. After the start of Israel's aggression against Gaza in October 2023, Hezbollah opened the support front from southern Lebanon, and Sayed Nasrallah said the battle is tied to the Gaza war.
Before his martyrdom, he wrote a letter with his own hand and requested that the party's members who are martyred in confrontations be called "martyrs of the path to Jerusalem." In this way, the phrase "on the path to Jerusalem" was not merely a media title but his loyalty to a cause in whose path he was martyred.
On September 27, 2024, Sayed Nasrallah was martyred in the resistance operations room in the southern suburb of Beirut; where Israel poured all its spite on a small point. The man who spoke of readiness for confrontation did not speak from a safe position; he knew he was a target and remained in that very position until he was martyred.
Speaking of Sayed Nasrallah's honesty is not complete without mentioning his domestic alliances. One of the most prominent examples is the Mar Mikhael Understanding, which Hezbollah and the Free National Current signed in February 2006.
This understanding was formed at a stage when Lebanon's political rift was acute, and the two sides were from two different political and sectarian environments.
This alliance was not passing; it continued for years and became one of the most important domestic political alliances in Lebanon.
Loyalty in the eyes of Sayed Nasrallah's supporters does not mean the absence of disagreement but means not abandoning an ally in difficult conditions.
Honesty Whose Owner Paid the Price
Sayed Nasrallah led the resistance in the 2006 war, experienced long confrontations with Israel, supported his allies in Syria, supported Iraqi groups against ISIS, took a position supporting Sana'a, and made the southern Lebanon front part of the equation of supporting Gaza.
At every station, there was a political, military, and popular price. He lived under the constant threat of assassination since the 2006 war, and his public appearances became rare due to security risks.
Here the idea of honesty reaches its final test: saying you are ready to die for your belief is one thing; knowing that this possibility will pursue you for years and still continuing on the same path is another.
After his martyrdom, the resistance environment insists on continuing the path of honesty and loyalty to his method and taking revenge on his killer.
People may disagree about this legacy, the wars, the options, and the alliances; but for those who believed in his words, the fundamental value is that he did not treat his slogans as a tool for political bargaining.
He raised a slogan, then entered its battle.
He announced a promise, then strove to fulfill it.
He chose an ally, then paid the price of standing by him.
He said Palestine is at the heart of his project, then called his children "martyrs of the path to Jerusalem" and was martyred on that path.
His supporters commemorate the anniversary of his martyrdom not only as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah but as an example of leadership that did not separate honesty in word, belonging, commitment, and readiness to pay the price; he himself was "the honest promise."
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