Berri: Lebanon Thwarted the Aggression… Mikati: The Army Is Heading South… and the Occupation’s Hysteria /  The Resistance: We Are Monitoring Implementation and Ready… Hochstein Calls for a Government Free of Hezbollah

 November 28, 2024

The political editor wrote

Barely had the ceasefire come into effect at dawn yesterday when a flood of returnees filled the roads leading to the south, reaching villages on the border’s edge. They carried images of the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, alongside the yellow flags of Hezbollah, as well as pictures of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and the green flags of the Amal Movement. The awe-inspiring scene conveyed a clear message: one of the aggressors’ key objectives had failed – tying the return of displaced residents to completing the security arrangements stipulated in the agreement within 60 days. This would have given the occupation sufficient time to impose a security regime of intimidation and firepower on border villages.
Instead, the surprise of the immediate return caught the occupying forces off guard. They responded with hysterical actions, including shooting at civilians and journalists, and issuing orders barring southern residents from crossing to and from the south between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily – marking the first violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The scenes of displaced individuals on both sides of the border decisively illustrated the measure of victory and defeat in this war. While settlers from the northern settlements of occupied Palestine refused to return despite calls and reassurances, the triumphant and fervent return of southerners vividly recalled the iconic day of August 14, 2006. It was a stark contrast – the victors returning with pride, the defeated lingering in despair and gloom.
In Beirut, responses to the ceasefire agreement came swiftly. Speaker Nabih Berri emphasized the need to uphold the national unity demonstrated during the war’s difficult days, stressing the priority of electing a new president and declaring that Lebanon had thwarted the aggression’s objectives. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired a government meeting to approve the agreement, announcing afterward Lebanon’s commitment to deploying the Lebanese Army to the south and urging support for funding the army’s needs.
The Resistance’s operations room revealed a tally of its activities, exceeding 4,000 operations since the Al-Aqsa Flood. It stated it would monitor the occupation’s implementation of the agreement, affirming its readiness to confront any aggression or hostile actions.
The most striking and controversial statement came from U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who called on the Lebanese to hasten the election of a president and the formation of a government free of Hezbollah. This raised questions: is Washington, with such rhetoric, genuinely aiding the success of the agreement it sponsors, or is it revealing hidden agendas that jeopardize the deal’s stability?