Facing cease-fire 'mechanism' chief and Michel Issa, Berri and Salam demand end to Israeli attacks

SOUTH LEBANON — Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri both called for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon during separate meetings with US Lt. Gen. Joseph Clearfield, head of the U.S.-led cease-fire monitoring “Mechanism,” and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, who continued their meetings with Lebanese officials.

Clearfield met President Joseph Aoun and Lebanese Army commander Gen. Rodolph Haykal on Wednesday to discuss the situation in south Lebanon.

During talks at the Grand Serail on the military component of the negotiation framework and developments in south Lebanon, Salam stressed the need to halt Israeli destruction operations, expand the “pilot zones” outlined in the Lebanese-Israeli framework agreement and set a clear timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Berri, who heads the Amal Movement and is allied with Hezbollah, said after meeting Clearfield at Ain al-Tineh that “the key to stability remains forcing Israel to end its war and withdraw to the international border.”

Issa said negotiations in Rome were continuing in a “positive” atmosphere. He said Clearfield’s visit to Beirut was aimed at presenting Berri with the situation on the ground and the obstacles facing implementation of the framework agreement.

Issa also said Israeli demolitions would stop “when the time comes.” “Tell Hezbollah that as soon as it hands over its weapons, everything will stop,” he told reporters.

On who would oversee verification of the Lebanese Army’s work in the pilot zones, Issa said no agreement had yet been reached, but that a shortlist of countries was being considered. The verification would cover the army’s deployment in the pilot zones in south Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Asked whether the U.S. supports a potential Israeli attack on Ali Taher, Issa said: “I don’t know. You know more than I do.” He added that no date had yet been set for the next Lebanon-Israel negotiating session, but that talks would continue.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visited south Lebanon on Wednesday and reiterated his determination to keep troops in an area where Israel occupies more than 600 square kilometers of Lebanese territory, as well as in Syria and Gaza. He ordered the army to prepare for a long-term presence in Lebanon and said Israel would “under no circumstances” withdraw from the “security zones.”

The remarks were condemned in Lebanon and criticized by the U.S. administration, amid the wider regional war and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on March 2.