Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pauses with pain and anguish at the horror of the barbaric actions of the Israeli enemy, which continues to destroy and burn homes in the occupied southern villages, despite the recent Washington agreement.
The Council President recalls the visit of the former Emir of the State of Qatar, the late Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to the southern suburbs of Beirut and the south after the July 2006 war, praising the contribution of Qatar and its then Emir to the reconstruction workshop of what was destroyed by the aggression.
Speaker Berri narrates that he was “hanging” the serum when he accompanied Prince Hamad on his tour of the south, in appreciation of his initiative and his support for Lebanon, explaining that he assigned a parliamentary delegation to represent him in offering condolences to Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Commenting on the renewed confrontation between Tehran and Washington, President Berri told Al-Jumhuriya that the atmosphere in the region is negative and gloomy as a result of the ongoing escalation, hoping that it will be contained before it escalates, especially since there is no escape in the end from returning to negotiation and implementing the memorandum of understanding.
When Speaker Berri is asked whether the renewed US-Iranian engagement proves the validity of the proposal that opposes linking Lebanon to Islamabad’s path and adheres to Washington’s path that the authority is pursuing, he answers: “I am not upset if any path achieves a positive result that falls within the category of stopping the aggression and ending the occupation.” He adds: “My brother, let them close my eyes and silence me with an actual achievement, not an imaginary one… I haven’t seen anything yet…”
Speaker Berri points out that the direct negotiations that led to the “framework formula” did not lead to any real positives for Lebanon’s interests and rights, “and be sure that I will be happy if they are able to achieve withdrawal, the return of the displaced, the release of prisoners, and reconstruction, because what matters to me in the end is eating grapes and not killing the guard.”
Speaker Berri reiterates his rejection of the option of experimental areas, which, if implemented, means that completing the withdrawal will require two years, “in addition to the fact that we basically have objections to the origin of this proposal,” noting that he had proposed replacing it with districts.
Speaker Berri notes that the proposed experimental areas are mostly unoccupied, warning “that the intent is to involve the army in internal confrontations and create strife that only serves the Israeli enemy, which seeks to lure us into its trap, and this is what we are confronting with all our strength and wisdom.”
Speaker Berri does not show interest in the upcoming round of negotiations in Rome between the Lebanese and Israeli negotiating delegations, suggesting that it will constitute a rumination and an extension of the winding path.
