The Speaker of the House Nabih Berri confirmed in an interview with "Al-Joumhouria" that "the repeated threats from Israeli enemy officials do not scare us, and if the occupation army attempts to advance even one meter into Lebanese territory, we in the Amal Movement will be ready to defend Lebanon. The current style of warfare is not our domain and does not align with our capabilities; thus, we are currently in a primarily defensive position."
Berri considered that "the people of the South tell a story and set an example," praising the models of resilience and heroism in confronting the Israeli aggression, some of which were evident during the martyr burial ceremonies in the southern towns, "where rockets fell around the mourners without succeeding in frightening or scattering them."
The Head of the Council recounted that he contacted a tobacco farmer in Aitaroun a few days ago "after I learned that he insisted on staying on his land despite the significant dangers, and I congratulated him on his courage and steadfastness."
Berri observed that "there is an attempt to incite against the Amal Movement, through promoting suspicious voices asserting that the combination of my political position as Speaker of the House and the resistance work of the Amal Movement is not appropriate." He pointed out that this "malicious proposal aims to target my role, which annoys some, but I will not back down from it, whether someone likes it or not."
He emphasized that the political resistance he is undertaking to defend Lebanon's rights is nearly more challenging than military resistance. In this context, "Al-Joumhouria" noted that the Speaker finds it odd that international envoys focus on the necessity of the return of displaced settlers to their colonies in northern occupied Palestine, ignoring the existence of more than 100,000 displaced individuals from the South who left their homes.
He explained that he insists during his meetings with envoys on giving the file of Lebanese displaced persons the attention it deserves, asserting that "the return of these individuals to their homes is an urgent priority for us, and they are the ones in need of guarantees, not the occupation."
Regarding the fate of the presidential entitlement, when asked about his comments on the accusations from the leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, claiming that he caused the ambassadors of the quintet to despair after their last meeting with him, Berri replied: "It is clear that Geagea has a misunderstanding of what transpired between me and the ambassadors of the 'quintet'. The truth is that they did not leave their meeting with me feeling despair but rather convinced of the importance of dialogue to agree on electing a president. There is a significant difference between the two terms, but according to Geagea's dictionary, conviction has become synonymous with despair, which is astonishing."
When asked about Geagea's assertion that the "Duo's" insistence on endorsing Sleiman Frangieh's candidacy undermines the usefulness of dialogue, Berri responded with surprise: "Isn't it our right to support a candidate for the presidency according to the democratic and constitutional rules that those who attack us boast of?"
