BEIRUT, May 4 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament speaker, who is the most senior Shi’ite politician and a close ally of Hezbollah, said on Monday there could be no negotiations with Israel without a halt to the war that has raged on in southern Lebanon in spite of a ceasefire.
Nabih Berri’s comments, made as Israeli forces ordered residents out of four more villages in southern Lebanon, underline challenges facing U.S. efforts to forge peace between the states which held rare, face-to-face talks last month.
Israel invaded Lebanon in March to root out Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shi’ite armed group, which fired across the border in support of Tehran after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran says any deal to end the wider war must also halt fighting in Lebanon, though Washington says the issues are separate.
Israel and Lebanon agreed a ceasefire in mid-April which has since been extended into May. But while fighting has been diminished, it has not halted, with Israel maintaining an occupation of southern Lebanon and demolishing villages there, while Hezbollah has continued attacks on Israeli forces.
Berri told Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper the priority must be “stopping the war before any political track”, and that he rejected any negotiations without guarantees Israel would halt attacks, according to a summary of his comments released by his office.
The Israeli military on Monday issued a warning to residents of four villages beyond its self-proclaimed security zone to leave their homes immediately, accusing Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire and saying it intended to act against it.
Hezbollah said it carried out 11 operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday.
Lebanon’s government wants a permanent deal with Israel that would end a repeated cycle of Israeli invasions and strikes, while stopping short of saying it wants a peace agreement. Israel says any deal must permanently disarm Hezbollah.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who hosted delegations from the two countries for last month’s ceasefire talks, said there was “a great chance” they would reach a peace agreement this year and that he wants to host a meeting soon between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun.
Hezbollah and Berri have objected to the face-to-face meetings.
Aoun has said he backs ambassador-level talks with Israel with the aim of establishing a ceasefire, followed by expanded talks on Lebanon’s other demands, including a full Israeli withdrawal, the return of displaced people and the release of captives held by Israel.
Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 2,600 people have been killed in the war since March 2. Israel says 17 of its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon while two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah attacks.
The war has hardened divisions in Lebanon over Hezbollah’s status as an armed group. The government has been seeking Hezbollah’s peaceful disarmament since last year.
(Writing by Tom Perry)
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