Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri [Reuters]
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri [Reuters]

Lebanon's parliament speaker has proposed a simultaneous withdrawal of both Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters as a compromise, amid disagreements between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group over troop pullouts from southern Lebanon that have stalled a US-brokered truce.

Nabih Berri, speaker and leader of the Shiite Amal Movement who maintains close ties with Hezbollah, said Thursday that Hezbollah could agree to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon if Israeli troops pulled back from the areas they occupy there.

Berri said the US-mediated truce proposal announced June 3 had unfair elements, calling for "an unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea and in the air."

He added that he supports "Hezbollah withdrawing from the area south of the Litani River in step with Israel withdrawing from the occupied territories."

Earlier, the United States announced that both sides had reached a swift agreement on implementing a ceasefire following trilateral talks with Israel and Lebanon.

The truce plan made public at the time centered on Hezbollah halting all attacks and fully withdrawing its forces from the area south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Both sides also agreed to quickly establish a pilot zone under the exclusive control of the Lebanese army, excluding "non-state actors." The arrangement is intended to create an area where groups such as Hezbollah cannot operate, allowing the Lebanese government to exercise sovereign control over that territory.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem pushed back sharply, saying the agreement's demand that Hezbollah fighters withdraw from southern Lebanon "means nothing but surrender, defeat and the achievement of the enemy's goals," and vowing that "resistance will continue as long as the occupation persists."

Qassem also warned that northern Israel would not be safe while Lebanese villages were being bombed, and urged the Lebanese government to end direct negotiations with Israel.

Israel, which had put on hold plans to strike Beirut after President Donald Trump urged restraint, also made clear it could not withdraw the forces it had deployed in southern Lebanon, citing the security threat posed by Hezbollah.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com