On the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the Israeli aggression that targeted Lebanon on July 12, 2006, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri expressed his deep respect and gratitude to the martyrs, the resistors, and all Lebanese who demonstrated on this day the inability of Israeli force, in all its arrogance and terror, to break the will of the Lebanese in resistance, steadfastness, and unity in defense of Lebanon and its rights and sovereignty. July 12, 2006 marked a victory for Lebanon and a new setback for the Zionist aggression, thwarting its old and new project aimed at keeping Lebanon a war-torn wreck amid the region's crises.
Berri added: "On the anniversary of July 12, 2006, amidst 33 days of Israeli fire, massacres, systematic destruction, and displacement, Lebanon emerged victorious and did not fall into the abyss of the New Middle East. Today, 16 years after that ongoing Zionist crime against Lebanon, in violation of its sovereignty by continuing to occupy the northern part of the village of Ghajar, and in the air through over 22,000 violations of airspace related to Resolution 1701, and at sea through revealed and latent aggressive intentions to plunder Lebanon's oil and gas resources, we call on the international community to bear its responsibilities to pressure the Israeli entity politically and security-wise to curb its aggression and comply with relevant international resolutions. At the same time, we confirm on behalf of Lebanon, which triumphed in the triangle of the army, the people, and the resistance, that we will defend our maritime and land resources just as vigorously—if not more—than we defended our land."
Berri further stated: "As the Lebanese were in July 2006 facing a test of their national and authentic belonging, they are now confronted with the dangers and challenges looming over their homeland, facing a new test where they are called to summon all the elements that enabled them to triumph in July 2006, foremost among them unity, dialogue, and the cessation of any attempts to incapacitate Lebanon from within by disruptive strikes that sink its institutions into emptiness and ceasing the ongoing political and constitutional tampering that sacrifices the homeland on the altar of personal and selfish grudges. Such actions and policies, whether knowingly or unknowingly perpetrated, reach the level of crime, indeed treason, against Lebanon and the Lebanese."
