Berri: Trump signed a written pledge to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon
Speaker Nabih Berri has said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had “signed a written pledge at Hassan Abbas’ restaurant (in the U.S. state of Michigan) to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon once he wins.”
Asked by the Mustaqbal Web news portal about “the ongoing debate regarding the future of Shiites in Lebanon,” Berri declined to comment on the subject and said he does not “interact with such a sectarian rhetoric.”
But he added that “all Lebanese are in pain and no one can replace anyone.”
As for the situation in Lebanon in light of the Israeli war, Berri said “the decision now is for the battlefield,” noting that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein “might return to Lebanon should he sense a positive Israeli stance, because we had reached an agreement, and the ball now is in the Israeli court.”
“If Hochstein finds any cooperation, he can return to Beirut from now until January 20, the date when Biden’s term will expire, to finalize the agreement,” Berri added.
He also said that those displaced from the south, the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs will immediately return to their homes once a ceasefire is reached, “even if they had to sleep on the floor.”
“In 2006, I called on them to return and they immediately returned, and today I will repeat the call and, God willing, they will return the next day,” Berri went on to say.
Trump has addressed a letter to the Lebanese-American community in the United States, just six days prior to the U.S. presidential vote which he eventually won. The letter came at the request of the owner of the "Hassan Abbas restaurant" in Michigan, who had requested that Trump pledge to end the war in Lebanon, after he was approached by Trump's campaign regarding a visit by the Republican candidate to his restaurant.
“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” Trump says in the letter.
“I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace, and we will get it done properly so it doesn't repeat itself every 5 or 10 years!” he added.
“You have my word. I will preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities. Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East,” Trump went on to say.
He added that he is looking forward to working with the Lebanese community living in the United States to “ensure the safety and security of the great people of Lebanon.”
07 November 2024, 14:11
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Berri naively misunderstands Trump's words. He meant "end the war in Lebanon by using the Lebanese Army to deport all the illegal aliens back to Syria and Iran. That includes anyone who came from a Muslim country. I don't care how long they have been able to avoid the authorities and stay illegally."
So much for being a saviour of Shia and Berri's projects in Lebanon.
07 November 2024, 16:14
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It is time for this phony heir of Imam Saddr to go. He supported HizbIran, an Iranian Basij creation that would have certainly assassinate Imam Saddr if he was still alive as they have assassinated thousands of reformers in Iran since brutally suppressing the Green Revolution in 2010. Imam Saddr was one of Lebanon's great, another giant like Rafiq Hariri. A believer in building up instead of tearing down, a supporter of institutions instead of criminal militias, a builder of bridges instead of isolation, a believer in Lebanon instead of Hizbollahstan, a seeker of tolerance and unity instead of radicalism and intimidation. Berri is a dinosaur that must be held accountable for his actions and where he took the Shia community. We also hope another aging dinosaur, Jumblat, leave the political scene. He lives on another planet talking about Sykes Picot and Golda Meir while the world talking about AI, robotics, automation, green energy and sustainable living. Pity Jumblat!
