Lebanese Speaker Berri: “Everyone Is Being Targeted” as Mechanism Fails

By Al-Ahed News, An-Nahar Newspaper

As uncertainty persists over how the ceasefire monitoring mechanism will convene amid recent developments, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri delivered a pointed message to all political forces in Lebanon in remarks published by An-Nahar, addressing the war, the Resistance and the broader national stakes.

Berri stressed that the danger posed by the apartheid “Israeli” entity is not limited to one community, saying: “It is true that ‘Israel’ is targeting the Shia community, but it is threatening all Lebanese. Everyone is being targeted.”

He criticized the ceasefire monitoring committee, noting that “the Mechanism have not delivered what was required, and ‘Israel’ does not pay attention to them anyway.”

Rejecting portrayals of the Shia community as inclined toward war, Berri underlined that confrontation was imposed, not chosen. “We, the Shias, are not lovers of war. Like all Lebanese, they love life and want stability,” he said, adding that “Israel forced them into this confrontation.”

He emphasized that the response was internal and sovereign, stating that “the response was purely national, not the result of any external orders.”

On the military outlook, Berri sought to calm speculation about a broader escalation, saying: “There are no indications, at present, that ‘Israel’ is heading toward a large-scale war.”

He also dismissed accusations that Hezbollah violated the ceasefire, asserting: “Hezbollah has not breached the ceasefire agreement in any way, not even by a single detail.”

Placing the Resistance within a historical and political context, Berri said: “The Resistance emerged as a result of the occupation and the state’s inability to protect the South.”

He concluded by reiterating that confrontation with the “Israeli” entity was a sovereign decision, not an imposed agenda: “Standing up to ‘Israel’ was a national decision, not something dictated by outside forces.”