Hizbullah seized three Israeli soldiers last Saturday to complement the Palestinian popular rising and boost Palestinian morale as well as to serve as bargaining chips for Lebanese held by Israel.
Mr Abduh Saad, an authoritative Lebanese source on the resistance, stressed the importance to Hizbullah of the "liberation of Palestine" which "remains (the movement's) strategic goal". But while Hizbullah can "play a major role assisting the Palestinians in the struggle, it must be the Palestinians themselves who achieve liberation," he said.
Mr Saad is from the Tibnin area in the south where the Irish battalion of UN peacekeepers is based. He rejected the accusation that Hizbullah is being used by Syria to put pressure on Israel to pull out of the Golan. "Hizbullah is using Syria: the ambition of Hizbullah (to secure the liberation of all Palestine) is greater than the Syrian ambition" to free the Golan, captured by Israel in 1967.
Mr Saad told The Irish Times that Saturday's "well co-ordinated military operation had been expected by Israel" for a some time because Hizbullah had made clear its intention of kidnapping Israeli troops. "It took only minutes to execute the surgical operation. The Lebanese do not see the operation as a breach of the frontier because they consider the area where the Israelis were captured to be "occupied territory", farmland belonging to the villagers of Shebaa located on the edge of the Golan.
"This was concrete military action against Israel but not part of the Intifada" or rising "taking place inside" Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"Now there will be marathon negotiations" on the exchange of prisoners, Mr Saad stated. Two of the 19 Lebanese civilians held by Israel are leading figures in the resistance: a senior Hizbullah cleric, Shaikh Abdel Karim Obeid, kidnapped by Israeli commandos in 1983, and the head of the Believers' Resistance, Mustafa Dirani, seized in 1994.
These men have been imprisoned, without trial, as hostages to secure the return of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers killed during Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and of an Israeli airforce navigator shot down over Lebanon in 1986.
Hizbullah, which has been approached by groups representing more than 1,600 long-term Palestinian detainees held by Israel, could "ask for (the release) of all Arab prisoners", Mr Saad stated. But, in his opinion, Hizbullah would settle for the freeing of all Lebanese prisoners. This being the case, Mr Saad said negotiations could "take a long time". Shaikh Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary general of the movement, could put forward Hizbullah's opening demands at a press conference scheduled for this morning.
Hizbullah has "helped the Palestinians by broadcasting the news from the West Bank, Gaza and Israel on its "Manar" (Lighthouse) station" which inaugurated its satellite service a month ago, Mr Saad said.
"Manar has become the Voice of the Intifada in the Arab and Muslim worlds. It is stirring up people. In any Israeli strike against Lebanon, Manar would be a prime target. Callers from everywhere - Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Pakistan, Indonesia - pass messages of support to the Palestinians." This has contributed to the wave of demonstrations in Arab and Muslim countries.
Mr Saad asserted: "Now we must wait to see what Israel is going to do. I think total war (involving Lebanon and Syria and others) is an option for the Israelis. (The Israeli Premier, Mr Ehud) Barak is vulnerable, he has no credibility whatsoever. We can't predict what Israel will do. Israel can't escape (the Palestinian) problem, so war is its only option. It must reshuffle the cards, create a new situation."
But this could be difficult for Israel to do. During the interview Mr Saad received news that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah had warned Israel against "taking any step" against Lebanon and Syria. "Everyone is getting involved" in trying to prevent a war, Mr Saad remarked.