Israel’s military has confirmed that a group of illegal Jewish settlers crossed over the border into southern Lebanon earlier this month, claiming that soldiers were forced to remove them due to an ongoing ceasefire deal with Beirut.
Earlier this month, Israeli settlers – led by the extremist settler group, Uri Tzafon – claimed to have crossed the northern border into Lebanese territory and established an outpost settlement. The Israeli military, however, said at the time that those claims were false.
Occupation forces have now acknowledged and confirmed that the illegal settlers did enter Lebanon and attempt to establish an encampment, according to Reuters news agency, stating today that the military’s “preliminary investigation indicates that the civilians indeed crossed the blue line by a few metres, and after being identified by IDF forces, they were removed from the area”.
The alleged dispersal of the settlers by Occupation soldiers was reportedly due to the area being a closed military zone, with the Israeli military stressing that “Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission.”
According to The Times of Israel, a military source has claimed that the army has, in recent weeks, worked to block various entry points into Lebanon along Israel’s border fence.
READ: Israel violates ceasefire in Lebanon 12 times on Tuesday, bringing total violations to 248