UN relays Israeli request to remove Hezbollah tent, as Beirut counters with demands
In meeting with UNIFIL commander, Lebanese PM ignores Israeli petition, instead seeks control over contested Ghajar hamlet along border
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met separately on Monday with the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, who relayed an Israeli request for the removal of a Hezbollah tent set up in Israeli territory.
Two tents manned by armed Hezbollah members were discovered in early June on Israeli territory north of the internationally recognized border (the so-called Blue Line) in the contested Mount Dov region, also known as the Shebaa Farms.
In the meantime, one tent was removed after Israel reportedly sent a message to Hezbollah threatening an armed confrontation if it did not remove the outpost soon.
Following UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro’s meetings in Beirut on Monday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib reported to Lebanon’s National News Agency that “Israel should withdraw its troops from the Lebanese part of the town of Ghajar that was captured by Israeli troops in 2006.”
Ghajar, the only Alawite-majority settlement in Israel, was part of the territory captured from Syria in 1967 and was effectively annexed by Israel in 1981 together with the Golan Heights.
Following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and the demarcation of the Blue Line, the village was split in two, with the northern half coming officially under Lebanese control. Israel regained control over the entire village during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and residents have repeatedly objected to the potential division of the village and annexation of its northern half to Lebanon.
The town remained a closed military zone for more than two decades, with special permission required for nonresidents seeking to enter or exit. In September, with the construction of a barrier north of the village to block the entrance from Lebanon, access restrictions were lifted.
As Israel seeks a quiet resolution for the Hezbollah tents, the US has reportedly also been intervening in the matter. According to Channel 12 news, the United States has passed along a suggestion that entails Hezbollah dismantling the remaining tent in return for a halt to the barrier Israel is building around Ghajar, including its northern half in Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah considers the barrier a violation of Lebanese territorial integrity. According to Channel 12, its opposition to the move was the reason behind the anti-tank guided missile the terror group fired at Israel last Thursday.
Part of the projectile was found in Israeli territory, while another part landed in Lebanon.
The incident came amid rising tensions on the border. On June 26, Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli drone flying over a village in southern Lebanon. The group has in the past claimed downing Israeli drones, and Israel’s military also has said in the past that it has shot down Hezbollah drones.
Hezbollah has long been considered the IDF’s most potent adversary on Israel’s borders, with an estimated arsenal of nearly 150,000 rockets and missiles that can reach anywhere in Israel.
