In a recent interview, Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahhal discussed how Israel's summer 2006 war against Hezbollah changed both the West's vision of Arabs and the Arabs' vision of themselves (al-Quds al-Arabi, July 13).
Rahhal claims that the Arabs now see themselves as "capable of action," and no longer as a people "who cannot do anything in the face of an advanced Western machine [the Israeli military] that is supported with a lifeline from the West."
…who can be a match for the Israeli, who has 60 years of technical and financial support from the West…We have forced the West to look at us as equals."
Rahhal also analyzed the changed perception that Israelis have of themselves in the wake of the war. "There is a feeling of disappointment and failure [among Israelis]," he said.
"This is because he (The average Israeli) has reached a conviction that if the Arabs had a will to fight, they (Israel) cannot win.
Actually I thought it might be because Ehud Olmert is an incompetent Prime Minister, fit only to negotiate with the local garbage collector's union, and was restricted to a one off piece of stupidity. But hey, carry on, Hezballoids.
They are reassessing the situation with regard to all Arab armies. This is extremely important, and it is a strategic change that involves the Arab and Israeli individuals"