Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Credit: AFP)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a new interview with Asharq al-Awsat that the U.S. initiative for a cease-fire in Lebanon has failed because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Lebanon’s proposed roadmap, which had been agreed upon with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein.
Berri added that the political efforts to resolve the ongoing war between Hezbollah and Israel have been postponed until after the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5. He warned that this delay leaves Lebanon “vulnerable to developments on the ground” and expressed concern that Lebanon could become “a second Gaza.”
“Amos Hochstein hasn’t communicated with us since he left Israel,” Berri added, noting that the envoy “had promised” during his last visit to Beirut to return to Lebanon if he saw positive signs, “but he hasn’t informed us of anything since he left Tel Aviv.”
On Wednesday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope that a cease-fire agreement with Israel might be announced in the coming days, as Israeli public broadcaster Kan released what it described as a draft agreement proposing an initial 60-day truce.
The document, which Kan reported as a leaked U.S.-drafted proposal, stipulates that Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of the 60-day cease-fire. The report added that Berri declined to speculate on the future of the conflict in light of the U.S. election outcome.
Finally, Berri reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war, a stance he has emphasized repeatedly in recent weeks.
More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict began last October.
