In late February, as Hezbollah attacked Israel at Iran’s behest, Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri issued a rare rebuke. He was reportedly “shocked” by Hezbollah’s actions. A few days later, he wielded his political power against the group and refrained from blocking Lebanon’s decision to ban Hezbollah’s military arm.
Berri is the leader of the Amal Movement, a Shiite political party that together with Hezbollah has composed a Shiite duopoly in Lebanon since the 1980s. Berri had reportedly been assured by Hezbollah that it wouldn’t intervene in the United States and Israel’s conflict with Iran and plunge Lebanon into another war. And yet Hezbollah did, shaking the Shiite alliance.
In late February, as Hezbollah attacked Israel at Iran’s behest, Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri issued a rare rebuke. He was reportedly “shocked” by Hezbollah’s actions. A few days later, he wielded his political power against the group and refrained from blocking Lebanon’s decision to ban Hezbollah’s military arm.
Berri is the leader of the Amal Movement, a Shiite political party that together with Hezbollah has composed a Shiite duopoly in Lebanon since the 1980s. Berri had reportedly been assured by Hezbollah that it wouldn’t intervene in the United States and Israel’s conflict with Iran and plunge Lebanon into another war. And yet Hezbollah did, shaking the Shiite alliance.
