Israeli Troops Violate Blue Line at Bustra, Take Combat Positions Off al-Wazzani

Israeli troops deployed Tuesday opposite the al-Wazzani River on the border with Lebanon and some of them took combat positions, as an Israeli force violated the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line in the Bustra area.

“Backed by a Merkava tank, 12 Israeli soldiers crossed the electronic fence in the al-Wazzani area at 3:00 am, erecting two tents around 50 meters away from the al-Wazzani River and 200 meters from the electronic fence,” Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

The tank was positioned on the hill overlooking the river and the adjacent recreational parks as a number of Israeli troops deployed in the area, the agency said.

An Israeli military jeep had arrived at 10:00 am at the electronic fence's gate and the soldiers who were in it headed to the two tents, along with a sniffer dog, NNA added.

Troops “took combat positions opposite the Lebanese side of the border and other soldiers accompanied by two civilians arrived half an hour later,” the agency said, noting that the Israelis later marched in the area facing the Hosn al-Wazzani park.

“Some of them used binoculars as one of the troops filmed the area with a video camera,” NNA said.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army and UNIFIL peacekeepers took the necessary precautions and monitored the Israeli activities that ended around noon.

“The enemy troops then left through another gate,” the agency said.

The electronic fence is not the Blue Line, which is the U.N.-mapped border.

The fence is located approximately 50 meters south of the Blue Line.

In the evening, NNA said 11 Israeli soldiers violated the Blue Line at the Bustra Farm, west of the town of Kfarshouba, making a 100-meter incursion beyond the U.N.-demarcated frontier.

The force combed the area for around half an hour as an unmanned drone flew over the occupied Shebaa Farms.

On Monday, the Israeli army staged patrols alongside the border with Lebanon.

In recent days, Israel has reportedly erected a defensive barrier and sonar array off the Ras al-Naqoura border area, in south Lebanon, to prevent any Hizbullah divers from infiltrating northern Israel.

Y.R.