Nabih Berri, chairman of the Shiite Amal movement, who has also been speaker of the Lebanese parliament for over thirty years (since 1992 –when Hezbollah decided to run for the first time in the Lebanese parliamentary elections), is a billionaire, (as indicated by a 2011 report leaked on Wikileaks,[1] it can be inferred that his financial status has likely improved since that time). He is perceived as a corrupt individual who avoids direct involvement in public affairs, while he and his sons derive income and resources from the Lebanese state, particularly from the Shiite community.
Is Berri truly the preferred representative for the Lebanese today when it comes to reaching an agreement within Lebanon to end the war? Is Berri the figure who represents all Lebanese?
In May 1988, a power struggle broke out between Amal and Hezbollah. Only Syrian intervention, aligned with Amal, and Iranian intervention, aligned with Hezbollah, brought an end to this intermittent struggle until 1990. Over the years, the relationship between Amal and Hezbollah changed, and they became the “Shiite duo” (originally Al-Thani al-Shi’i). Undoubtedly, the two organizations still harbor inherent tensions rooted in honor, prestige, and status. However, in recent times, Amal’s (Nabih Berri) and Hezbollah’s (Hassan Nasrallah) leaders have demonstrated their ability to manage these tensions, mitigate them, and foster cooperation.
With Iranian support and encouragement, Hezbollah first decided to enter the Lebanese political system and run in the parliamentary elections in 1992. Perhaps to appease Amal, Nabih Berri secured the Speaker of the Parliament position, which he has maintained for 32 years. Hezbollah (Nasrallah) has never challenged or attempted to replace him with anyone on its behalf.
Amal also contributed to the support for the “resistance” and actively participated in it. The “Shiite duo,” Hezbollah and Amal, ran together in the parliamentary elections in Lebanon in order to strengthen the Shiite force.
Amal has a military militia that includes thousands of armed operatives and possesses medium weapons, including short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles. In addition, Amal has military headquarters and weapons depots deployed mainly in southern Lebanon. Amal actively participates in the fighting against Israel, and as of this writing, dozens of its operatives who carried out terrorist attacks against Israel (infiltration attempts, rocket fire, anti-tank fire, etc.) have been killed.
Already in the early days of Hezbollah’s attack on northern Israel (October 8, 2023), Nabih Berri said that Lebanon was exercising its right to self-defense.[2] In other words, Berri supported Hezbollah’s decision, headed by Hassan Nasrallah, to intervene in the fighting against Israel and drag Lebanon into war.
From the very beginning of the war, Berri displayed an inability to judge, surrendered to Hezbollah and exhibiting a lack of care for the Lebanese state and citizens. It should be noted that for decades, Berri was Hassan Nasrallah’s marionet, and even though he seems to have an opinion, position, and power as speaker of parliament, Nasrallah always set the tone. An example of this can be seen in the inability to elect a president for a period of two years following Mishael Aoun’s retirement on October 31, 2022, as Nasrallah prevented the election and refused to reach any agreement.
Nabih Berri is in charge of representing the parliament, Lebanon’s main legislative body. The Speaker of Parliament is one of the three most important positions in the State of Lebanon (President of the State, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament). The Speaker of Parliament is responsible for promoting and advocating for the welfare of Lebanon. As speaker of parliament, he should support all of Lebanon and facilitate arrangements and coordination between all sects and their respective parties.
However, Berri is the leader of a movement that presents itself as part of the resistance and acts de facto as such, in accordance with Shiite interests. Regrettably, Western countries, particularly the United States and France, have normalized his standing for years.
It is essential to clarify that there has not been, nor is there currently, any decision made by the Lebanese state or government regarding Lebanon’s involvement in the war against Israel. Hezbollah’s decision, along with the indirect involvement of the Amal movement and Nabih Berri, to engage in the conflict in Gaza and initiate an attack against Israel undermines Lebanese sovereignty.
This begs the question of who has truly harmed and damaged the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. Israel or Hezbollah? The answer is obvious, and Nabia Berry is part of the problem, not the solution.
In reality, Berri backed Hezbollah, leading Lebanon to war for the benefit of the Shiite axis and the resistance axis, rather than for Lebanese interests. This was in a country that was divided, conflicted, experiencing a severe economic crisis, with mistrust among its sects, and with a clear understanding that Hezbollah was leading Lebanon into calamity for the benefit of the Iranians.
Berri has not even instructed the Amal operatives to cease their activities, withdraw, and stop cooperating with Hezbollah operatives in the war against Israel.
On October 20, 2024, Berri asserted that Hezbollah had given him permission to find a solution, that Hezbollah had endorsed Resolution 1701 without any modifications, and that it had a strategy to save Lebanon. [3]
Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, likely more influenced and led by Iran than Nasrallah, expressed his trust in his “big brother,” Nabih Berri, to safeguard Lebanon’s interests and facilitate a ceasefire in Lebanon.
In a publication on November 1, 2024, Berri complained, claiming that Israel had rejected the road map agreed upon with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and expressed his support for a return to Resolution 1701.[4]
On November 6, 2024, Na’im Qassem gave a speech in which he stressed that the cessation of the fighting would be the ending of Israel’s aggression against Lebanon and Gaza and noted that Nabih Berri was leading the political resistance.
Nabih Berri is currently part of the problem. But at the same time, he is the only part that can lead to a solution. Is he the leader who can represent all Lebanese? We doubt it. As a default, the United States and France, have normalized his standing for years. Nabih Berri appears to be Lebanon’s only leader who can influence Hezbollah (and through them on the Iranians).
[1] https://www.calcalist.co.il/world/articles/0,7340,L-3514338,00.html
[2] بري: لبنان ملتزم بالشرعية الدولية ويمارس حقه المشروع فى الدفاع عن النفس – اليوم السابع
[3]https://x.com/mayadeenlebanon/status/1848047342773264547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1848047342773264547%7Ctwgr%5E1260bb0f29a40432f1c72f1d61f373bd6d53888c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Frotter.net%2Fforum%2Fscoops1%2F873525.shtml
[4] https://www.eremnews.com/news/arab-world/h1afmdv
