Berri: Middle East needs peace import not arms, Tribunal to Probe "Israeli" Massacre in Gaza Should Be Formed

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri explains why the US should begin exporting peace to the Mideast instead of arms to ‘Israel'.

Addressing an international conference in support of the Palestinians in Tehran, Berri said that it was the "former US administration that drew up the ‘Israeli' plan to stage an assault on the Gaza Strip, and former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice personally gave orders for the continuation of the war on Gaza."

The Lebanese legislative heavyweight said the fact that US-made weapons were used in the offensive indicated that Washington had played a major role in the war.

Berri insisted that Palestinians brought ‘Israel' to its knees by defending their land with "very normal rockets during a war in which the other side [‘Israel'] was using advanced American-made technology."

'Israel' launched a three-week war against the Gazan population on December 27, leaving nearly 1,350 Palestinians dead and 5,450 others wounded -- a large number of the Gazan casualties were women and children.

Tel Aviv had carried out its military operations using white phosphorous bombs, classified as a 'chemical weapon' by the US intelligence.

The ‘Israeli' war destroyed or damaged thousands of buildings across the besieged strip, leaving over 70,000 Palestinians homeless.

Although ‘Israel' has ended its major operations in Gaza, it continues to stage air strikes on the strip and to enforce a 20-month blockade on the sliver of land.

A solution to the ongoing crisis, according to Berri, will be reachable if President Barack Obama decides to recognize and respect the rights of the Palestinian nation.

"Obama must recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and the rights of the Palestinian refugees to return to their country, Obama must recognize Palestine as a state," the speaker affirmed.

"Obama now has a golden opportunity to export peace to the Middle East instead of arms."

Berri went on to urge Palestinian factions to use unity as the "best weapon against Israel".

The two-day Tehran conference which focuses on the ‘Israeli' war crimes in Gaza and on finding solutions to the ‘Israeli'-Palestinian crisis, has been attended by international legal experts from leading human rights groups.