Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on March 5, 2024, in Ain al-Tineh. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The day after his meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and two days before a new meeting between Lebanon and Israel that could lead to an extension of the cease-fire, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Tuesday, April 21, that he rejects any Israeli plan to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, referred to as a "Yellow Line" by Tel Aviv and inspired by the one established in Gaza.
"There are no yellow lines, no red lines, no green lines, nor any line of any color whatsoever. No line concerns us and we cannot accept that in any form," said the leader of the Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah, to Al-Joumhouria.
"The Israeli withdrawal from the areas in the south where it has infiltrated and is trying to consolidate its occupation must take place. If it maintains its occupation, whether of areas, sites, or through fictitious lines, it means it will face the resistance every day," he also promised.
"This is Lebanese land, and Lebanon cannot accept to lose a single meter of its territory. If they insist on staying, they will face the resistance, and our history bears witness to this. We did not start; we did not resist for nothing. It is their occupations and their aggressions that imposed on us the resistance to liberate our land and preserve our sovereignty. Nothing has changed for us: we remain steadfast until the occupation ends and withdraws from our territory."
Berri, who has recently reiterated his disagreement with any process of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, nevertheless assured that he was not against mediation. "Who said we are against negotiation? We are certainly in favor of indirect negotiations, and we have many experiences in the past. Personally, I have led long sessions of indirect negotiations with a large number of American envoys, the last of whom was Amos Hochstein on the maritime border delineation file, and we reached an agreement [in October 2022.] The same was true regarding the disputed points on the Blue Line, most of which we resolved, with only five or six left. It was also the case during preparations for Resolution 1701 with David Welch in 2006," he recalled.
He also indicated that the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the cease-fire agreed in November 2024 between Hezbollah and Israel "had been instituted as a framework for negotiation" between the two countries.
Concerning the 10-day truce, Berri reiterated his call for caution to displaced people, stating he never trusted "Israeli treachery."
