Lebanese Speaker says "resistance" result of Israeli "occupation"

Text of report in English by Lebanese Hezbollah Al-Manar TV website on 7 August

["Berri to Pottering: Israel is Violating UN Resolutions" - Al-Manar headline]

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering started late Wednesday a visit to Beirut, where he is scheduled to spend three days before travelling to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Pottering told reporters at the Beirut International Airport that he was happy to be in Beirut and hoped to see "lasting stability and prosperity with the new government" in Lebanon.

He explained that his visit aimed at "seeing the views of Lebanese politicians in the peace process in the region." Members of the European Parliament were "very interested to know how Lebanese politicians interpret the evolution of the peace process in the Middle East," he added.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri held a lunch in honour of Pottering on Thursday at Phoenicia Hotel. The Speaker expressed gratitude for the EU's support during the Israeli July 2006 war against Lebanon, stating that in the 34-day confrontation "we established Israel's failure in achieving any goal by force."

"During the war, we proved the Israeli inability to achieve any of its objectives through force," he said, recalling that Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine was the result of the Israeli occupation, not its cause of the Israeli occupation, "and we are proud of it."

While noting that Lebanon is fulfilling its commitments as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Berri highlighted that the Zionist entity, in contrast, was still violating international resolutions.

Pottering earlier met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. Following the meeting, he reiterated the European Union's support to the peace process in the Middle East.

Pottering said that the European Union cares about Lebanon's safety, about the establishment of the best possible relations between Lebanon and Syria, and about the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

"The EU will play its full role in reviving the peace process in the region on the political and economic levels," Pottering told reporters.

Source: Al-Manar Television website, Beirut, in English 7 Aug 08