Lebanon says Israeli troops built earth barrier in Lebanese army-held village

Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement and built an earthen barrier overnight Friday, Lebanese state media and the local mayor said.

“An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight… and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

An AFP correspondent saw the barrier, built at the village’s eastern entrance. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area.

Zawtar al-Gharbiya was one of two designated “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army was to take over as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel in the wake of the latter’s invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon.

The resistance group Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war by launching rockets at Israel, which responded with a widespread bombing campaign and a ground invasion.

Israeli forces have killed more than 4,300 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

Under the June agreement, Lebanon is meant to disarm Hezbollah while Israel is supposed to gradually withdraw its forces.

Beirut’s army deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiya on July 21, while around 50 families have since returned to the village, mayor Abed Ezzeddine told AFP.

Israeli troops had been present on the outskirts of the village before the deployment.

Ezzeddine said they were surprised to see the barrier in the morning, located around 100 metres from the town square.

Confirming the incident, a Lebanese military source told AFP it was a violation of the framework agreement.

Lebanon and Israel had just completed their seventh round of direct negotiations in Rome on Thursday, with a Lebanese source telling AFP the Israelis refused to discuss withdrawing from more areas before making sure Beirut’s military had full control over the pilot zones.

Hezbollah, which rejects the deal, refuses to surrender its weapons, and Israel still carries out intermittent strikes on southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place since June.