Written by Maya Gebayrey and Timur Azhari
BEIRUT, Lebanese National Assembly Speaker Nabi Berri reiterates his role as an important interlocutor between Hezbollah and the United States, as Washington seeks to mediate an end to the war with Israel, and hopes to reach a deal. Leveraging decades of experience.
It underscores the influence the 86-year-old still has over Lebanon, particularly the Shiite Muslim community he has exerted influence over for decades, and that Israel is the Lebanese leader. He is seen as having a stable influence since killing Saeed Hassan Nasrallah. Iran-backed Hezbollah in September.
Berri told Lebanese in a televised address on Wednesday that Lebanon was entering “the most dangerous historical moment Lebanon has ever experienced” and urged Lebanese to show solidarity for Lebanon. I appealed.
Berri rose to fame as a leader of the Shiite Amal movement during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. He has served as speaker of parliament since 1992, the highest role for Shiites in Lebanon’s sectarian order.
Hezbollah’s new leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, supported Berri as a negotiator and called him the group’s “big brother.” U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein has visited Beirut multiple times and met with Mr. Berri repeatedly in an effort to broker an end to the hostilities, which are being waged in parallel with the Gaza war and escalated dramatically in September.
This reflected Berri’s role in helping end the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Diplomats said his role was difficult because Lebanon has no president, a cabinet with only partial powers and little access to Hezbollah, which is branded a terrorist group by the United States. He says it is becoming increasingly important.
“If you come to Lebanon now, he is the only person really worth meeting. He is the nation,” said the Beirut-based diplomat.
He gained world fame in 1985 when he helped negotiate the release of 39 Americans held hostage in Beirut by Shiite militants who had hijacked a U.S. military airliner during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war. Ta.
His election as chairman after the civil war coincided with Nasrallah’s rise to leadership of Hezbollah. Together they led the “Shia Duo,” which refers to the two political parties that controlled Shiite political representation and much of the state.
A diplomat who frequently visits Berri said: “He is a reliable partner of Hezbollah, which makes him very important, but there are clear limitations on what he can do because of Hezbollah’s and Iran’s positions.” There are limits,” he said.
The fires in Israel hit areas where Mr Berri’s Amal movement has influence, including the city of Tire.
Improving the status of Shiites
Mr. Berri was born in Sierra Leone in 1938 to a family of immigrant traders from Tib9in, grew up in Lebanon, and became politically active by the time he attended university.
Many in the once-oppressed Shiite community praise Beri for helping to elevate their status in a sectarian system that skewed privileges to Christians and Sunni Muslims.
Berri, a lawyer by training, took over the reins of Amal after founder Imam Musa al-Sadr disappeared during a visit to Libya.
Mr. Berri was behind Mr. Amal’s military rise, fighting nearly all of the major parties to the conflict, including Hezbollah, which later became an ally.
After the war, Berri’s Shiite followers joined the state apparatus and security services en masse, and Berri appeared to be politically aligned with Hezbollah.
When a 2006 U.S. embassy cable raised questions about his true feelings toward Hezbollah regarding a 2010 publication, he dismissed it, declaring that Nasrallah was “just like me.”
In 2023, when Israel launched an offensive after Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, Amal fighters led by Berri joined Hezbollah and fired rockets against Israel in solidarity with Gaza.
Foreign envoys traveled to Beirut to stop cross-border gunfire between Israel and Lebanon and began talks with Berri, trying to persuade Hezbollah to retreat north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the border. .
“It’s easier to move Hezbollah south to the border than to push Hezbollah north of the Litani River,” a source close to him told Reuters. He is said to have said.
But Berri’s opponents also accuse him of being part of the sectarian elite that led Lebanon to economic ruin in 2019, when the financial system collapsed after decades of state corruption.
Some accuse him of refusing to convene a parliamentary meeting to elect a president, leaving the top Christian post in government vacant for more than two years.
Berri’s role as a diplomatic conduit has angered Hezbollah’s political opponents, including the Christian Lebanese Army, which says any negotiations should be conducted by the Lebanese president.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.
