KFARCHOUBA (LEBANON) (TIP): Israeli soldiers fired tear gas to disperse scores of protesters who pelted the troops with stones along the border with Lebanon on June 9, leaving some Lebanese demonstrators and troops suffering breathing problems. The tension on the edge of the Lebanese border village of Kfarchouba began earlier this week over the Israeli military digging in the area that Lebanon claims.
On Wednesday, a Lebanese villager tried to stop an Israeli bulldozer from digging a trench along the border. Once the villager’s legs were covered with sand as the bulldozer moved ahead, U.N. peacekeepers jumped in and convinced the driver to move back. Videos of the elderly man with his legs stuck in the sand dune went viral on social media.
Israel ended an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon when its troops withdrew from the area in May 2000.
Friday’s protest took place on the edge of Kfarchouba hills, which Beirut says is Lebanese land occupied by Israel. Kfarchouba hills and the nearby Chebaa Farms, are areas captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast War and claimed by Lebanon.
On June 9, some of the protesters tried to break through a fence in the rugged area overlooked by an Israeli military post. Israeli forces fired tear gas to disperse them while Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers later moved in and pushed the protesters back.
“DO NOT CROSS THE BLUE LINE,” read a banner carried by a U.N. peacekeeper in Arabic, English and French, referring to the border drawn after Israel’s withdrawal in 2000. Israeli troops and several vehicles, including a heavily armoured Merkava tank, were seen in the area.
Lebanese troops were on alert in the area and reinforcements were brought in.
In a statement, the Israeli military said protesters tried to damage a border barrier and threw stones at Israeli soldiers in the area. The military said forces responded with “riot dispersal means,” which typically means tear gas or stun grenades. The military said it “would not allow any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty.”
Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said peacekeepers are on the ground working to decrease tension in the area.
“We have urged the parties to utilize our coordination mechanisms effectively to prevent misunderstandings, violations, and contribute to the preservation of stability in the area,” Tenenti said. (PTI)