«Israel» Trying to Fill in Gaps on Front Line with Hezbollah

Local Editor

The "Israeli" entity's War Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that the entity had begun building an upgraded security fence along two stretches of the Lebanese border after an unarmed Lebanese citizen infiltrated into the area and walked several kilometers to Kiryat Shmona.

The upgraded barrier is expected to be similar to the "smart fences" along the border with Egypt and some 30 kilometers along the border with Jordan. The steel and barbed wire fence will have a height of six meters and stretch several kilometers. The project, which is projected to cost NIS 100 million and is expected to feature information-collection centers and warning systems.

While the War Ministry would not confirm the location of the upgraded fence, a report by Haaretz said it will be built near Rosh Hanikra on the northern Mediterranean coast and near Metulla, some 10 km. north of last month's infiltration.

Ali Mari crossed into "Israel" from Lebanon in April, unarmed, in the area of Moshav Margaliot. He then walked to the central bus station of Kiryat Shmona, about 10 km. from the border fence.

Mari was arrested and interrogated by the entity's Shin Bet before being returned to Lebanon the next day through the Rosh Hanikra crossing via UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

An "Israeli" investigation led by the head of the "Israeli" Occupation Forces' [IOF] Northern Command, Maj.-Gen.Yoel Strick, found deficiencies in the performance of troops in the area. A statement by the IOF's Spokesperson's Unit said, "Additional professional complementary investigations will be carried out to prevent recurrence of such cases in the future."

The border area with Lebanon had been flagged by the IOF as being vulnerable to infiltrations. In response to that warning, significant amounts of money and effort had been investing in strengthening the entity's defenses there over the last several years, including the placement of obstacles and the building of high concrete barriers to help prevent any operations by Hezbollah.

In a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post, a senior IOF officer stationed in the North stated that not only is the threat of Hezbollah rocket barrages a concern to the military, but also the very real possibility of ground operations by the group against communities in the "Israeli" entity.

The border fence with Lebanon has been upgraded several times since it was built in the 1980s, including in October, when a 29-km. stretch was upgraded with engineered barriers, reinforced concrete panels several feet high, concrete blocks and fortified watchtowers.

In January, the War Ministry reported that the entity finished raising the height of the electronic "smart" fence along part of the border with Egypt from 5 to 8 meters, along a 17-km. stretch, to stop illegal entry by migrants.

The raising of the fence, along with the placement of additional detection devices, "significantly curbed the flow of illegal infiltration into ‘Israel', with only 11 successful attempts to cross the fence throughout 2016," the ministry said at the time.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team