Israeli forces ordered to stop work on wall near Lebanese border
Israeli forces Wednesday were forced to halt construction of a cement border wall opposite south Lebanon’s Kfar Kila after the Lebanese Army disputed several points planned for the wall.
The incident occurred hours after dozens of Israeli forces deployed in the area after Syria shot down Israeli missiles that were launched over Lebanese territory the night before, and also as a separate Israeli operation continued nearby to block alleged “Hezbollah tunnels” with cement.
A team from the Lebanese Army’s Geographic Affairs Unit was seen standing behind a border fence and marking disputed areas just beyond it. The Army then informed UNIFIL personnel on the ground, who in turn ordered the Israeli soldiers to move back seven meters behind the planned course of the cement wall.
A Lebanese military source said the Army was in contact with UNIFIL to uncover additional details.
Earlier this year, new construction began along the Lebanese border for an Israeli wall equipped with cameras. It followed earlier construction in 2012 of a wall around the Israeli town of Metula next to the Lebanese border.
Israel has said all portions of the wall will be on its side of the Blue Line, the U.N.-established cease-fire line put in place after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, despite Lebanon saying that some sections will cut into its territory.
Earlier Wednesday morning, The Daily Star saw dozens of soldiers positioned beyond the Blue Line opposite areas in the Lebanese villages of Adaisseh and Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun governorate, in the wake of Syria’s downing of Israeli missiles over Lebanese territory.
Syrian state media reported late Tuesday night that Syrian air defenses had “intercepted hostile missiles launched by the Israeli warplanes” from over Lebanese territories, citing a military source, according to Agence France Presse.
It added that the majority of missiles were downed before reaching their targets near the capital Damascus.
The Israeli army’s official Twitter account later said that an Israeli “aerial defense system went off against an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria. No damage or injuries were reported.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based activist group, said Israeli missiles were launched from above Lebanese territory and targeted western and southwestern Damascus rural areas.
“A number of missiles hit arms depots for Hezbollah or Iranian forces,” the Observatory said.
Israel’s air force spent a noisy four hours or more in Lebanese airspace Tuesday night, people across the country said. Residents of southern Lebanon said the Israeli planes flew at low altitudes and released flares. Near Mount Lebanon’s Chouf, residents heard a sonic boom from the planes. People in Western Bekaa said they heard the explosions of Syria intercepting the Israeli missiles.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops continued to pour cement behind the Blue Line near Kfar Kila to block tunnels allegedly found there.
The cement pouring operation, which began Monday night, was at least the second to be carried out by Israel since the country rolled out Operation Northern Shield on Dec. 4 to find and destroy what it called “Hezbollah attack tunnels.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation to block the “Hezbollah tunnels” was “almost over,” in remarks published late Tuesday on Twitter by his Arabic language spokesperson.
Since launching the operation, the Israeli army has claimed that it has located four underground passageways leading into Israeli territory. UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, has meanwhile confirmed the existence of all four tunnels, two of which it said it confirmed had crossed the Blue Line, though it did not say who had dug them.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has not commented on the allegations.