BEIRUT: Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement, building an earthen barrier there overnight, state media and the local mayor said Saturday.
An AFP correspondent saw the barrier, situated at the village’s eastern entrance and blocking the road. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area.
“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 (NNA) reported.
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.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “not aware of such an event in this area”.
Israel invaded south Lebanon after militant group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its sponsor Iran in March. Israeli forces continue to occupy a broad band of territory in the south along the border.
Its invasion and widespread bombing campaign 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 pull back its forces.
Beirut’s army deployed to Zawtar al-Gharbiya on July 21, and 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.
Separately, the military later reported that “three soldiers were wounded, one of them moderately, while dismantling unexploded ordnance” in Zawtar al-Gharbiya on Saturday.
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 rejects the deal and refuses to surrender its weapons, while Israel still carries out intermittent strikes on southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place since June.
The NNA on Saturday reported artillery shelling in southern Lebanon.
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