●The Hoss cabinet declares 25 May "Resistance and Liberation Day" a public holiday

As soon as Israel withdrew from the South in May 2000, Salim al-Hoss's government declared 25 May "Resistance and Liberation Day", an official holiday on which administrations, schools and universities close. The day became an annual occasion for the resistance's celebrations and for a speech by Hezbollah's secretary-general setting out the positions of the moment, and governments renew its declaration as a holiday every year.