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Another Nasrallah Threatens Israel
November 12, 2009 - 10:02 AM | by: Reena NinanFor years the Israeli government has warned that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, with his growing clout in Lebanon and his arsenal of rockets, threatens the security of Israel.
Now Israelis are worried about another Nasrallah: a new threat to Israel that swims along the country's coast along the Mediterranean Sea. Marine researchers sarcastically refer to it as "Nasrallah fish."
The fish are "so dangerous, one sting can kill a person or leave them paralyzed for weeks," said Moti Mendelson, a marine researcher. "There are many of them--[just] like Hezbollah soldiers."
In a speech last night, the Hezbollah leader acknowledged he heard about his namesake fish.
" Israeli researchers surprisingly call this fish handsome and cute, apparently they think it about me. But if I have poison – I am ready to sting. We are all ready to sting the occupying enemy who occupies our land and take our saints," he said.
Researchers also worry about the damage to the underwater ecological system.
"These fish are like vacuum cleaners," says Mendelson. "They eat everything in the ocean--big fish, algae, crabs and snails. They take away food from bigger fish."
The fish arrived through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea in 2001. Researchers estimate that there are now likely thousands living along Israel's coast but admit it is difficult to get an exact number.
"They've had a population explosion," said Dani Golani of Hebrew University. "They are producing more offspring than the environment can handle."
But the fish aren't just an Israeli problem. Scientists believe they're likely to move to the waters of Syria and Lebanon, if they haven't already.
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