Berri: The Negotiation Path with Israel Has Collapsed and the International Mechanism is the Only Option

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that the negotiation path that was proposed between Lebanon and Israel has collapsed after Tel Aviv rejected a U.S. proposal to cease military operations for two months, followed by an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories and the start of negotiations for border demarcation and security arrangements.
Berri explained, in statements to the "Asharq Al-Awsat" newspaper, that the only available option currently is to work within the "mechanism," which is a committee that includes representatives from the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement that ended the last round of fighting in November.

He pointed out that this committee has started holding regular meetings every two weeks, after its meetings were previously infrequent.

U.S. envoy Tom Barak stressed that the opportunity is still available for Lebanon to enter a peace process, but he considered that the continued presence of Hezbollah's weapons poses an obstacle to achieving stability.

The ceasefire agreement signed on November 28 of last year stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah's retreat to the north of the Litani River, and the handover of weapons from armed groups to the Lebanese army, which deployed in the area.

In August, the Lebanese government approved a plan to hand over the party's weapons and tasked the army with implementing it while providing regular reports on the progress of the process.

Despite this, the Israeli army still retains several positions inside Lebanese territory and continues to carry out near-daily airstrikes on areas in the south and Bekaa, claiming to target sites and elements affiliated with Hezbollah.

Berri refused to describe his position as optimistic or pessimistic, merely stating: "I am cautiously optimistic," while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently confirmed that negotiations with Israel have become a necessity to resolve the outstanding issues between the two parties.