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Israel is building a huge wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has created tensions with Lebanon, which fears that the fence will encroach on its territory.
The Israeli military insists that the entire barrier is under construction in Israeli territory and the US peacekeeping force in the region agrees. But Hezbollah never fully accepted the border and a senior Israeli military official stressed the need for the wall, saying that if the Israeli intelligence service was closely monitoring the militant group, "we are ready to surprise."
The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military directives during a visit of the military-run border region to journalists.
The Israeli army this week conducted a large-scale combined armament exercise in northern Israel, simulating a future conflict with Hezbollah, with which it waged a long war in 2006. Israelis fear a resumption of hostilities in Syria. , where the militant group backed by Iran has been fighting alongside the forces of President Bashar Assad for seven years.
Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and Israel, would have an even bigger and more sophisticated arsenal of rockets than in 2006, when it fought Israel's vaunted army in deadlock at southern Lebanon. The war began with a deadly cross-border raid in which Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others whose remains were returned to Israel two years later during a prisoner exchange.
Brig. General Eran Ofir, the commander in charge of Israel's wall projects, said that about seven miles from the 130-kilometer barrier has been built. The $ 450 million project is expected to be completed in two years. Most of the barrier is a concrete wall topped with steel mesh, sensors and surveillance cameras. The steel fence replaces the concrete wall in particularly rugged areas.
Earth-moving machinery and other large machines rumbled along the completed section of the 9-meter high concrete wall earlier this week near the Mediterranean coast. Lebanese soldiers have flown over the barrier from a guard post on the other side of the Blue Line, which was demarcated by the Americans after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after an 18-year military occupation. Both countries remain technically at war.
Last month, the Lebanese army filed a complaint with UNIFIL, the US peacekeeping force, claiming that Israeli bulldozers working on the fence were encroaching on the Lebanese side. A Lebanese security official at the time said that at the request of the Lebanese, Israeli bulldozers stopped their work and moved back 50 meters (160 feet).
The US Security Council warned last month that violations of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to a new conflict, and the top Lebanese security organ has described this year as a wall of security. aggression against his sovereignty.
"This wall, if it is built, will be considered an aggression against Lebanon," the statement said. "The High Council of the Defense has given instructions to deal with this aggression to prevent Israel from building this so-called wall barrier on Lebanese territory," the statement added.
Major Tomer Gilad, an Israeli liaison officer with UNIFIL, said there were monthly meetings with the Lebanese army and US officials to coordinate the construction of the barrier.
"Even for the last year before we started this construction, we coordinated this activity with UNIFIL and UNIFIL with the Lebanese Armed Forces, and warned them of our intention to build this defensive mechanism," Gilad said. told reporters.
Until now, construction has proceeded "very calmly with the participation of all parties to maintain stability," Gilad said. "We expect UNIFIL and the Lebanese army to maintain stability here throughout this construction, as this construction is a stabilizing measure."
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said that since the start of the works in February 2018, everything has been built south of the Blue Line and away from sensitive areas.
Israel says the purpose of the fence is to defend Israeli communities against Hezbollah, highlighting sporadic cross-border attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in recent years. The unstable border between the two countries has been relatively calm since the 2006 war, with few major cross-border attacks or incidents.
Israeli warplanes regularly violate Lebanese airspace, including air strikes in neighboring Syria.
In 2010, one Israeli army officer was killed and another was seriously injured by Israeli gunfire launched by Israeli troops as he cut trees on the Israeli side of the Israeli army. border. Three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in Israeli reprisal bombings. In 2013, an Israeli soldier was killed by a sniper of the Lebanese army while driving along the border. In 2015, Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military convoy, killing two people and seven soldiers.
The Israeli official who requested anonymity said that the army had noticed a worrying increase in "very close cooperation between Lebanese army forces and Hezbollah" near the Israeli border. Last year. He says the army is expecting more Hezbollah fighters to arrive in the area after the end of the war in Syria.
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