Berri says anyone who attacks army is a 'dog, son of a dog'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly warned against confronting the Lebanese Army.

“Whoever throws (even a) rose at the Lebanese Army is a dog, a son of a dog, and this is the stance of the Amal and Hezbollah duo,” LBCI television quoted visitors of Berri as saying.

MTV also quoted visitors as saying that Berri wants the army to be like “the bride whom no one touches.”

The Lebanese government has tasked the army with preparing a plan for the disarmament of Hezbollah and all armed groups and presenting it to Cabinet prior to August 31, with an ultimate goal of completing the disarmament plan by year end.

Hezbollah has rejected the government’s decisions and said it will deal with them as if they do not exist.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he welcomes the Lebanese cabinet's "momentous decision," adding that if Lebanon takes the necessary steps to disarm Hezbollah, then Israel will respond with reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction of the Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon.

Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.

Lebanon is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead.