The unprecedented Israeli military escalation against Lebanon, which intermittently expands from the south to include the northern Bekaa region, is "a context for provoking us," says Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to "Asharq Al-Awsat," to enter into an open war that "we will not be drawn into, and we will continue to practice self-restraint and work on absorbing the Israeli aggression, which has peaked in the last two days, turning most towns and villages in southern Litani into uninhabitable scorched earth. Everyone, both domestically and internationally, knows well that we will not provide them with excuses, no matter how far they go in their attacks and crimes, which have not spared either the living or the stones."
Berri emphasized that "the Israeli escalation, which has exceeded all limits, with the systematic destruction of dozens of southern towns and villages, whether located along our borders with occupied Palestine or deep in the south, will not provoke us to the extent of being drawn into a decision to expand the war." He pointed out that the international community is fully aware, without any ambiguity, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one threatening to extend the ongoing war in Gaza to include southern Lebanon, which has prompted envoys moving between Beirut and Tel Aviv to pressure him to prevent the escalation. He stated, "On our part, we will not provide him with excuses, despite the massacres he has committed and continues to commit against civilians."
Berri referenced Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's statement during his speech on "Quds Day," that "the resistance in Lebanon does not fear war, and is fully ready for any war, and if they want it, we say welcome." Berri explained that Nasrallah is responding to Israel’s threat of expanding the war, and it does not imply, as some may wish to interpret, that he will take the initiative to expand it.
He called for pressures to be applied on Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza, because a cease-fire would extend to southern Lebanon and open the door to the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which Israel has not adhered to since its issuance, and which aimed at putting an end to its aggression during the July 2006 war, according to "Asharq Al-Awsat."
