Berri Says Israel Wants to Create New ‘Shebaa’ Dilemma ‘at Sea’

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the Resistance constituted a deterrent force and was an auxiliary factor in the political battle that Lebanon was waging on the axis of establishing sovereign land and maritime borders, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

"The biggest threat to Palestine is the disintegration of Arabs," Berri said, noting that Syria has always been a strong support for the Resistance.

Berri's stance came during his meeting with a delegation of the Arab Organization of Young Lawyers, who are currently participating in the Arab Oil and Gas Conference in Beirut, under his auspices.

"Unfortunately, on the level of the Arab nation, the failure has been loud because we have jettisoned all our winning cards -- the question of Palestine, and oil-related issues. Our oil wealth has not been spent on sustainable human development and on building the nation's strength, neither on unity of position," said the Speaker.

"Israel wants to create new Shebaa Farms, but this time at sea. For the last five years, Lebanon has been engaged in tough negotiations and the Lebanese position remains unchanged. Political battles are no less dangerous than military ones with the enemy," Berri added.

"Al-Quds has been and will remain our political and national compass, yet unfortunately some have deviated from this path. Palestine and its cause, for as much as it belongs to the Palestinian people, remains the first Arab cause and the biggest threat to this issue is the division of Arabs," Berri warned, regretting that the whole matter has been transformed into an Islamic - Islamic conflict. "The deal of the century is a blow to the principle of land for peace; it is a trade deal."