Four main headlines marked the first day of the new year that warrant attention. The first was the announcement by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri rejecting any barter between the presidency and Resolution 1701. The second was the renewal of Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai’s call for the election of a president and the implementation of the Taif Agreement. The third was the sudden escalation in the south with attacks on the Mays al-Jabal hospital. The fourth was the possibility of holding a Cabinet session to discuss and approve items that were postponed to the new year, most notably the appointment of the military council and the Chief of Staff.
Political sources indicated in a talk with the electronic newspaper "Al-Anbaa" that there is no fundamental disagreement between what Patriarch Rai is demanding and what Berri wanted to clarify. Patriarch Rai seeks the implementation of the Taif Agreement, which stipulates coexistence and equal representation in the number of deputies and ministers between Muslims and Christians, emphasizing the position of the President who is a president for all Lebanese, not a specific sect, and Lebanon’s neutrality, which protects it from entering into axes politics and commitment to Resolution 1701.
Berri emphasized in his remarks that he is more committed than ever to UNIFIL in supporting the Lebanese Army to implement Resolution 1701, calling for an end to incitement and distortion of the relationship between his political team and the international forces, confirming that he would not concede even an inch of southern Lebanese territory in exchange for any position in the state.
The sources anticipated a visit from American envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut in mid-January to discuss the implementation of Resolution 1701 and to resolve the contentious points that were excluded from the demarcation in 2006, noting that Hezbollah is willing to implement it provided that Israel withdraws from points "A" and "B" at Ras al-Naqoura, known for their coordinates, while rejecting giving up some points that Israel has retained since July 2006.
The sources expected a meeting soon between Berri and the UNIFIL commander to reassure him and to ask him not to heed the rumors some resort to that distort the relationship between the residents of the south and the international forces, stressing that the rumors circulated regarding this matter have no basis in fact.
