Lebanese Speaker Warns Israel Is Trying to Ignite Internal Conflict

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has accused Israel of trying to provoke a confrontation between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah, warning that such a scenario would threaten Lebanon's internal stability while stressing that the country would not allow it to happen.

In remarks to Lebanon's Ad-Diyar newspaper on Wednesday, Berri said Israel's "real objective" is to push the Lebanese army into a direct confrontation with Hezbollah, which he referred to as "the resistance."

He described the framework agreement signed in Washington as an "agreement of sedition," saying his priority remains preserving domestic peace and preventing political disputes from spilling into the streets.

"I immediately announced my position after reading the agreement and said: no to sedition and no to taking disputes into the streets," Berri said, arguing that the agreement is "unfair to Lebanon."

Berri reiterated his longstanding opposition to direct negotiations with Israel, pointing instead to the Nov. 27, 2024 agreement, which he said resulted in Hezbollah's complete withdrawal from south of the Litani River without requiring direct talks between the two sides.

Despite his criticism, Berri said the door to an agreement remains open.

"If the other side is ready, I am prepared to find a solution because no one wants the country to reach a deadlock," he said.

Addressing the issue of weapons, Berri said arms should be held exclusively under the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country.

He also called for the establishment of an international framework involving the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Iran to guarantee the implementation of any future agreement.

Berri's remarks come days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops would remain deployed in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer posed a security threat.

Speaking during a visit to Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on June 30, Netanyahu said Israel would not withdraw from the area "until the threat has disappeared" and maintained that Israeli troops would remain as long as Hezbollah continued to operate as an armed force.

His comments followed the signing of a US-brokered framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon on June 26, which is intended to establish a permanent ceasefire and create a pathway toward a comprehensive peace agreement. Under the 14-point framework, any Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory is tied to the Lebanese government's disarmament of Hezbollah.