Israeli Forces Carry Out Construction Work on Eastern Bank of Wazzani

Israeli bulldozers backed by several army vehicles crossed the technical fence in the South on Monday and carried out construction work in a disputed area, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said the bulldozers and around 25 Israeli soldiers in armored vehicles entered some 10-25 meters into the disputed area on the eastern bank of the Wazzani river and began digging a road and erecting earth mounds.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon considers that the area is not on the Lebanese side of the U.N.-drawn Blue Line that separates the border but the Lebanese army says it is a disputed territory.

The Israeli technical fence is not the Blue Line and in several areas there is a distance between the fence and the line.

NNA said the Lebanese army kept a close eye on the Israeli construction work while UNIFIL carried out patrols and sought to resolve the matter to prevent a deterioration of the situation in the border area.

On Friday, an Israeli force advanced towards the east bank of the Wazzani river without crossing the technical fence and the Blue Line.

It scanned the region for over one hour and then left the area.