News - Middle East: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has warned that Israel's military has built walls in south Lebanon near the UN-demarcated Blue Line, the demarcation line dividing the Arab country from the Israeli-occupied territories.

In a statement released on Friday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called the moves "a violation of Lebanese sovereignty."

UNIFIL further pointed out that in October, it surveyed "a concrete T-wall erected by the Israel military southwest of Yaroun. The survey confirmed that the wall crossed the Blue Line, rendering more than 4,000 square meters of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people."

"In November, peacekeepers observed additional T-wall construction in the area. A survey confirmed that a section of wall southeast of Yaroun also crossed the Blue Line," it added.

The Israeli military has confirmed that it was advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the Lebanese border.

UNIFIL has been working with the Lebanese army to consolidate a truce between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah reached last November. UNIFIL said it had informed the Israeli army of the findings and demanded that it move the walls. 

"We again call on the Israeli military to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it," the UNIFIL statement said.

UNIFIL added that the force would formally advise the Israeli army of the results of the November survey.

UNIFIL went on to explain that "Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity," referring to the UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The resolution, which brokered a ceasefire in the 33-day-long war Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on the occupying Tel Aviv regime to respect Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The resolution also formed the basis of last November's truce deal.

The Israeli army killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and turned into a full-scale aggression in September 2024.

Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement that took effect on November 27, 2024. Under the deal, Tel Aviv was required to withdraw fully from the Lebanese territory, but has kept forces stationed at five sites, in clear violation of the 1701 resolution and the terms of last November’s agreement.

Since the implementation of the ceasefire, Israel has violated the agreement multiple times through repeated assaults on the Lebanese territory. Israel has kept up its near-daily attacks on south and east Lebanon and is occupying five hills it deems strategic in the south.

Lebanese authorities have warned that the Israeli regime’s violations of the ceasefire threaten national stability.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun recently said Israel’s continued hostilities and its failure to implement the November 2024 agreement were preventing Lebanon’s army from completing its deployment along the southern borders.

The Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, in a speech on Tuesday, reiterated that the US and Israel’s calls for the disarmament of the resistance group were designed to weaken Lebanon and leave it exposed to external aggression.

He described the calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah as “a pretext” for launching an aggression on Lebanon

The Hezbollah chief stressed that the US and Israeli threats and pressure “will not change our stance; we will defend our land and dignity, and we will not surrender.”

Source: Press TV