Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri informed President Aoun that the two Shia parties in Lebanon oppose the 'pilot zones' contained in the Washington Declaration proposal, according to a report on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a senior US State Department official told Al Jazeera that Israel-Lebanon talks will continue to advance peace and end 'the cycle of violence once and for all.'
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally and its representative in Western and domestic negotiations, informed President Joseph Aoun that both Shia parties in Lebanon reject the 'pilot zones' proposal included in the Washington Declaration, according to a Tuesday report from a single channel. The Washington Declaration — a framework advanced by the US and France — has been the subject of intense diplomatic engagement in recent weeks, with Lebanon's President Aoun traveling to Washington for talks and US Secretary of State Rubio discussing Hezbollah disarmament with Aoun last week. Berri's statement marks a public hardening of the Shia political bloc's position ahead of the next round of talks, signaling that Lebanon's Shia establishment will not accept an Israeli military presence on Lebanese soil under any phased or trial arrangement.
In a parallel message of diplomatic continuity, a senior US State Department official told Al Jazeera that negotiations between Lebanon and Israel will continue, with the stated goal of ending 'the cycle of violence once and for all.' The official did not directly address the Shia rejection or offer a timeline for the talks, but indicated that Washington remains committed to the diplomatic track despite the domestic Lebanese opposition.
The development comes after days of mostly background reports from the region — Hezbollah commanders and MPs had already rejected ceasefire terms or any unconditional withdrawal. Berri's move signals that the Shia parties' position is now being conveyed formally through state institutions, raising the stakes for the US-led mediation effort. The 'pilot zones' concept was intended to test a gradual normalization and security withdrawal before a full agreement, but faces strong opposition from the Hezbollah-led camp. As The Zioneer reported on Monday, Hezbollah and Berri had already rejected a similar proposal for phased mutual withdrawal. Tuesday's report reframes the objection as the official position of both Shia parties in Lebanon's government.
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