Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says the Hezbollah resistance movement will not hand over its weapons before Israel fulfills its ceasefire agreement obligations.
“We will not hand over the weapons now before the implementation of the terms requested from the enemy” as per the ceasefire agreement, Berri said in an interview on Friday.
“Our weapons are our cards which we will not give up without an actual implementation of the ceasefire agreement and consequently heading to a dialogue over their fate.”
Berri placed a premium on pressuring Israel to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
He said Israel's obligations include a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal from occupied territories, both of which remain unmet.
“Israel must cease fire completely and withdraw from occupied Lebanese territory, both of which have not happened, and Israel has instead doubled its attacks and airstrikes. Let it at least halt its fire,” Berri added.
The Lebanese official expressed support for dialogue between President Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah, but, he said, “it is also important to press the enemy to implement its ceasefire agreement obligations.”
“We have implemented what’s requested from us and no one doubts that. As for (Israel), it has not. This is certainly the responsibility of the Americans and this also means that we don’t hand over all our cards”.
Berri said Lebanon has done its part, including deploying the army in the south and ensuring Hezbollah's withdrawal from the area.
“What’s requested from us are two points that have been accomplished by Lebanon, which are the army’s deployment in the South and Hezbollah’s withdrawal from it, and ever since (Hezbollah) has not fire a single gunshot.”
He said Hezbollah has refrained from any military action since then.
On April 18, Hezbollah's Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem warned that those calling for disarmament of the resistance, particularly through force, were serving the Israeli regime’s agenda.
He also issued a stark warning to the Israeli regime, stating that the Lebanese resistance movement has numerous options at its disposal in the face of Tel Aviv’s violations of its ceasefire with the group.
Hezbollah’s weaponry was solely dedicated to confronting Israeli aggression, Sheikh Qassem said, roundly refuting claims that the resistance's arms were a destabilizing factor within Lebanon.
The remarks came amid the regime’s daily violations of the ceasefire agreement that was clinched late last year with the aim of ending Tel Aviv’s deadly escalation against Lebanon that had claimed the lives of around 4,000 people throughout more than a year.
The remarks concerned efforts by successive American administrations and Washington’s allies to pressure Beirut into trying to marginalize Hezbollah.
