Education Minister responds to Hezbollah leader, warns that Lebanon, not Israel, will suffer if Hezbollah launches new war on Israel.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett responded to threats by the Hezbollah terror organization, warning that Lebanon, not Israel, would pay a heavy price if Hezbollah launched a new war against the Jewish state.

“Israel’s interest is to prevent another conflict,” Bennett said Monday. “That’s why our new strategy is simple: Lebanon = Hezbollah, Hezbollah = Lebanon. As opposed to the 2nd Lebanon war, this time we won’t distinguish between the [terror] organization and the State of Lebanon.”

On Sunday, Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, warned that Israel would suffer “great defeat and humiliation” in any potential future conflict with the terror group.

"Any Israeli force that enters Lebanon will be met with a great defeat and humiliation compared to the last war," Nasrallah said. "Israel's goal in that war was to crush Hezbollah, but since then our power has only grown and the Israelis know it."

"Israel will suffer the same defeat that it suffered in 2006 but with greater force" if it attacks Lebanon again, he warned in the televised speech.

"Every time an Israeli official talks about Hezbollah's buildup, he admits in effect Israel's defeat against Hezbollah," Nasrallah claimed.

"The closure of the ammonia tank in Haifa shows that Israel respects the power of its enemies. Israel will consider a war in Lebanon only as a last resort," he stated.