Speaker Berri: US-brokered Lebanon-Israel deal will not pass
Shafaq News- Beirut
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday criticized the US-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, warning it could “deepen internal divisions” and drag Lebanese factions into confrontation.
Speaking to Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri said the agreement "will not pass and will not be implemented." He argued that ongoing US-Iran negotiations offered the only realistic path to securing an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, warning that separating the Lebanese file from the broader US-Iran diplomatic track would only “prolong Israel's military presence.”
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, for his part, stated that the government's priorities remain securing a full Israeli withdrawal, deploying the Lebanese army across the south, and completing the state's plan to place all weapons under its exclusive control.
On Friday, Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered framework agreement providing for a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in exchange for the Lebanese army's deployment and the disarmament of armed groups, but Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, and other political factions rejected the deal as a threat to Lebanese sovereignty. Israeli officials have insisted no withdrawal will take place before Hezbollah disarms, while leaked details of a reported secret security annex suggest Israeli forces would retain operational freedom in southern Lebanon without a fixed withdrawal timetable. The Lebanese army is expected to begin deploying to the first two pilot zones under US supervision as implementation of the agreement gets underway.
