Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, said Monday in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that any Israeli pullout from a Lebanese district would be matched by making that area weapon-free. He said he made the commitment to Saudi Arabia on behalf of Hezbollah, adding that the area south of the Litani River should be cleared of arms only if Israel also fulfills its obligations.
Berri said he remains in constant contact with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and insisted there is no dispute among them as long as the shared priorities are Israel’s withdrawal from the south, deployment of the Lebanese army, the return of residents to their towns and villages, the release of prisoners, and a reconstruction plan backed by Arab and international support. He said he is satisfied with the ceasefire efforts and hopes they hold, but stressed that negotiations cannot take place under fire. According to him, Israel agreed to the ceasefire only after American pressure, following “two bloody days” in which dozens of civilians were killed in the south.
Berri also said Hezbollah is honoring the ceasefire while Israel is violating it, and he welcomed any effort to pressure Israel to stop what he called its “aggressive war against Lebanon.” He said he hopes the truce will survive because of U.S. pressure. At the same time, he rejected the idea of “pilot zones” in south Lebanon, arguing that agreeing on their borders could take two years or more.
Instead, he urged using Lebanon’s administrative districts as the framework, with Israeli withdrawal from each district happening in parallel with Lebanese army deployment. “We have no interest in wasting time that would allow Israel to continue its aggression,” he said, calling that the shortest path to liberating the south rather than spending time defining experimental areas. Separately, Iran’s negotiating team returned from Switzerland after about 18 hours of direct talks with the United States, and Tehran said a mechanism had been established to implement the Lebanon memorandum of understanding, including an oversight committee and technical working groups that will resume work from Tuesday.
