Israeli activists established outpost inside Lebanon, says IDF

Israeli military acknowledges that Israeli settlement activists managed to cross the border into Lebanon and set up tents as part of a makeshift outpost ‘settlement.’

By World Israel News Staff

A group of Israeli activists managed to cross the border from Israel into Lebanon and briefly establish a makeshift outpost “settlement” on Lebanese territory, the IDF said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on December 5th, when activists from the Uri Tzafon movement snuck across the Israel-Lebanon border and set up tents on the Lebanese side of the frontier, near Maroun El Ras.

The settlement activists dubbed the outpost “Mei Marom.” According to the movement’s website, the outpost was established in honor of Staff Sergeant Yehuda Dror Yahalom, a 21-year-old Golani Reconnaissance soldier from Hebron who was killed during a battle with Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon in October.

During their stay in southern Lebanon, the activists planted cedar trees at the site of the short-lived outpost.

The IDF had initially denied the movement’s claim that it had established an outpost on Lebanese soil.

On Wednesday, however, following an internal probe, a spokesperson acknowledged that activists had in fact managed to cross the border and set up tents but emphasized that the outpost was quickly dismantled by IDF forces.

“This is a very serious incident that will be investigated. Any attempt to near or cross the border into Lebanese territory that is not in coordination [with the army] presents a danger to life and harms the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and fulfill its mission.”

The Uri Tzafon activists spent several hours in Lebanese territory. When confronted by IDF soldiers, they left without incident.

“We arrived here in preparation for the establishment of a ‘seed’ group that will settle the area in the future,” Uri Tzafon said in a statement. “Maroun El Ras was an ancient Hebrew community named Mei Marom. Yehuda fell in battle in Ayta ash Shab, a village where a group of Kohanim [priests] lived in the past. With God’s help, we will yet return to all these areas in Lebanon, where Jews lived in the past.”

Established in early 2024 in honor of IDF soldier Yisrael Socol, 24, who was killed battling terrorists in Gaza in January, Uri Tzafon claims over 3,000 members in its Whatsapp group.

Prior to the Mei Marom incident earlier this month, Uri Tzafon has published material laying out its vision for Jewish settlement across southern Lebanon and organizing demonstrations in northern Israel and hikes near the Lebanese frontier.

The group has also distributed flyers and leaflets to southern Lebanon via drones and balloons, encouraging locals to leave the area.

“Caution! This is the Land of Israel that belongs to Jews. You must evacuate it immediately,” the leaflets read, according to the far-left Jewish Currents.