Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that Hezbollah operatives had been given directives to respond to any attack on the tents the movement set up in Israeli territory over a month ago, during a speech on Wednesday marking the anniversary of the start of the 2006 Second Lebanon War. The comments were the first made by the Hezbollah leader concerning the tents since they were erected.
The Second Lebanon War began on July 12, 2006, after Hezbollah launched diversionary rocket attacks on Israeli military positions and towns near the border, while simultaneously attacking a patrol of IDF humvees and kidnapping two soldiers. The war ended with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 after 41 Israeli civilians, 121 IDF soldiers, at least 500 Hezbollah operatives, and hundreds of Lebanese civilians were killed in the fighting.
Last month, it was revealed to the public that Hezbollah had set up two tents in Israeli territory in the Shebaa Farms area, with armed operatives present in the tents. Israel has reportedly been conducting extensive diplomatic efforts through UNIFIL to convince Hezbollah to move the tents back into Lebanese territory, but Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have insisted that the area the tents are currently located in belongs to Lebanon.
During his speech on Wednesday, Nasrallah stressed that Israel “would not dare” to act against the tents, as Hezbollah would respond to any such action.
توثيق لآليات عسكرية إسرائيلية من الكتيبة 90 في لواء "كفير" لقوة تدخل الجزء اللبناني من #قرية_الغجر لأول مرة منذ شهر أيلول 2022تاريخ إعلان الانسحاب العسكري الصهيوني من الجزء اللبناني وتحويلها إلى منطقة سياحية . pic.twitter.com/CAf2ywucDc
— علي شعيب || Ali Shoeib (@alishoeib1970) July 12, 2023
Nasrallah reiterated the claim that the tents are located in Lebanese territory, not Israeli territory, adding that the tents were only put up after Israeli authorities began building a fence around the village of Ghajar, which is split in half by the Blue Line with half in Lebanon and half in Israel.
"Starting from last year, the enemy raised a fence to annex the northern part of the town of Ghajar, which is Lebanese territory with international recognition, and what happened recently is that it finished building the barrier and turned it into a tourist area amid silence from the United Nations."
IDF confirms it thwarted an attempt to damage the border fence, saying it used measures to distance the suspects and that the identity of the suspects is unknown. pic.twitter.com/A4ALnsxXtI
— Tzvi Joffre (@TzviJoffre) July 12, 2023
The Hezbollah leader additionally referenced scuffles that took place between Lebanese citizens and Israeli forces along the Lebanese border on Wednesday, stating that the incidents were "under investigation" and stressing that "necessary measures" would be carried out once the investigation was completed.
Lebanese media reports indicated that three members of Hezbollah were injured after approaching the border fence, with the IDF stating that it had acted against suspects who had attempted to damage the fence, with video from the scene showing suspects nearing the fence before a non-lethal explosive detonated on the fence and they ran away.
الإسرائيلي قال عمل إنجاز و أحبط محاولة لتخريب السياج بإطلاق نار تحذيري على فتيان أطلقوا مفرقعات على الحدودقاموا طلعوا على الجدار وقبعوا كاميرات التجسس pic.twitter.com/8R0CHUWHJh
— علي شعيب || Ali Shoeib (@alishoeib1970) July 12, 2023
Referring to Ghajar, Nasrallah warned that Hezbollah "could not remain silent" on the matter and accused Israel of "occupying" the village. "The land of Ghajar, the Sheeba Farms, and the Kfarchouba hills will not be left to the Israelis," stressed Nasrallah. "Work must be done to liberate it, and the effort will be shared between the state and the resistance."
Referring to reports that Hezbollah and Lebanese officials were pushing for talks on demarcating the land border between Israel and Lebanon, Nasrallah stressed that "What is happening now is not the demarcation of land borders with the enemy entity, but rather we demand the withdrawal of the enemy from the occupied Lebanese points."
Nasrallah added that the borders between Israel and Lebanon have been set since the 1920s, seemingly referencing the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement of 1923 - which was signed between Britain and France to mark the border between Mandatory Palestine and Syria and Lebanon.
“The Israeli’s deterrence has eroded, but he is shameless. He makes contacts in which he talks about the breach of Lebanon while he is carrying out thousands of breaches. I call for counting the Israeli breaches by land, sea, and air, and what the enemy claims are Lebanese breaches.”
Nasrallah additionally ridiculed Israeli media, saying media outlets "exaggerate matters" and are "a large part of the terror that affects the residents of" northern Israel. The Hezbollah leader pointed to a recent incident in which rumors of an explosion spread on social media after Lebanese residents who live near the border launched fireworks during a wedding.
Tensions remain high along the Lebanese border
Last week, an anti-tank missile was fired toward the village of Ghajar, which is split in half by the Blue Line. In response to the missile fire, the IDF launched artillery strikes on sites near the towns of Kfarchouba and Halta. Over 15 shells were fired by the IDF toward southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
The missile fire came shortly after a statement by Hezbollah expressing outrage at the construction of a fence around Ghajar, with the movement accusing Israel of implementing a "complete occupation" of the village and stressing that "this is not just a routine breach of what the occupation forces are accustomed to from time to time."
On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah-affiliated media published footage of Israeli forces operating in the northern part of Ghajar, calling the presence of Israeli forces a “breach.”
Additionally, in recent weeks, the IDF and Lebanese citizens have clashed at various points along the Lebanese border while the IDF carried out maintenance work near the technical fence, including in the Shebaa Farms area.
On Tuesday night, during a meeting with Hezbollah’s Shura Council, Nasrallah reportedly claimed that UNIFIL had informed the movement that Israel had on one morning threatened to remove the tents set up by Hezbollah, but then proceeded to continuously push the threat off indefinitely.
Lebanese officials reject demands to move Hezbollah tents
Earlier this week, a number of Lebanese officials issued statements rejecting demands to move the tents set up by Hezbollah and demanding that Israel start talks to demarcate the land border between the two countries.
After a meeting between UNIFIL Commander Aroldo Lázaro, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday, Bou Habib stated that "the security situation in the south was discussed, and they conveyed to us the demand of the Israeli side to remove the 'tent.' Our response was that we want them to retreat from northern Ghajar, which is considered Lebanese territory. From our side, we recorded about 18 Israeli border violations."
In a later meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and US Ambassador to Beirut Dorothy Shea, Bou Habib stressed the need to demarcate the land borders between Lebanon and Israel in tripartite meetings, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Bou Habib additionally informed the two that Lebanon intended to file a complaint with the UN Security Council concerning Israel's presence in the northern part of Ghajar.
Additionally on Monday, Lebanon's speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, stated that the tent set up by Hezbollah is on Lebanese territory, adding that "what is required of the international community is to oblige Israel to implement Resolution 1701 and to withdraw from the northern part of the village of Ghajar, the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarchouba hills, and point B1 [north of Rosh Hanikra]."
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil, a political ally of Hezbollah, expressed outrage at reports that Lebanese officials aimed to discuss the demarcation of a border with Israel, stating on Wednesday that this "constitutes a flagrant constitutional violation" and that only the president of the country is authorized to conduct such negotiations.
Bassil added that the border of the country is already demarcated and defined on the basis of the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 425 which called on Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory to "internationally recognized boundaries."
"[There can be] no concession of a grain of soil from the land of Lebanon, and any talk of negotiation on the land borders is a violation of the constitution and a suspicious act, and those who carry it out are subject to accountability," said Bassil, adding that the Hezbollah tents, Ghajar, and Hochstein's visit are unrelated to land border demarcations.
US envoy Amos Hochstein met with Israeli officials on Tuesday, reportedly to discuss the tensions on the northern border. The Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper reported that Lebanese officials were informed that Israel is interested in entering talks concerning demarcating the land border between the two countries and that Hochstein may visit Beirut soon.