The rally also demonstrated support for Syria's strong military presence in Lebanon, despite deep divisions about its political control of the country. The Israeli pullout sparked an unprecedented debate about Syria's role in Lebanon. On Friday, though, the focus was on standing up to Israel. Mr Berri said fighters would attack northern Israel if the Israeli army hit Syrian targets in Lebanon, as it did last month. Israel has threatened to do just that because Syria backs Hezbollah.
Resistance is still our best weapon to face Israeli aggression.
Tensions high While Lebanon celebrated, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian man trying to hoist a Hezbollah flag on the Lebanese-Israeli border fence and fired at others who tried to slip into the tense frontier land. A soldier then shot him in the left knee. He was taken to hospital in Nabatiyeh. At Fatima Gate on the border, a group of men and Muslim clerics from eastern Lebanon threw stones at the Israeli border post. Such protests have become an almost daily ritual since the withdrawal.