Should UNIFIL fail to remove the outpost, the IDF may step in, Israeli army officials warned.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
The United Nations finally acknowledged over the weekend that operatives from the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group had established an outpost in Israeli territory, after Jerusalem pressured the international body to comment on the incursion.
“Several weeks ago, two temporary structures (a container and a tent) were erected south of the Blue Line, crossing it by more than 30 meters into Israeli territory,” wrote Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, in an open letter to the body’s Security Council last Thursday.
“On May 30th, another tent was erected next to the first one, 55 meters south of the Blue Line and into Israeli territory. This disturbing development constitutes a gross violation of Israeli sovereignty,” he added.
Despite clear proof of the violation of Israel’s territorial sovereignty, the UN had kept mum regarding Hezbollah’s military build-up along the border.
The UN Security Council “must demand the Lebanese authorities act immediately and without further delay to dismantle and remove these structures,” Erdan urged.
According to Hebrew-language KAN News, the UN’s UNIFIL peacekeeping mission – which has had a presence in southern Lebanon since 1978 – officially admitted that tents and other structures were set up by Hezbollah in Israeli territory.
By forcing UNIFIL to acknowledge the presence of the Hezbollah outpost, Jerusalem is attempting to force the body into clearing the area, thus avoiding a direct confrontation between Israel and Lebanon.
However, based on UNIFIL’s decision to ignore the encroachment for more than a month, it’s unclear if the body will take active steps to remove the camp in the near future.
Should UNIFIL fail to remove the outpost, the IDF may step in, Israeli army officials told KAN.
In March 2023, a Hezbollah-affiliated terrorist slipped across the border by climbing over the fence with a ladder. He then planted a roadside bomb in northern Israel that seriously wounded a motorist and moved freely within Israel for several hours, until he was eventually caught by security forces.
The terrorist was shot and killed.