Israel Resumes Wall Construction along Border with Lebanon

The Israeli "Iron Dome" on the border with Lebanon (AFP)
The Israeli "Iron Dome" on the border with Lebanon (AFP)
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Israel Resumes Wall Construction along Border with Lebanon

The Israeli "Iron Dome" on the border with Lebanon (AFP)
The Israeli "Iron Dome" on the border with Lebanon (AFP)

Israel on Thursday resumed the construction of its separation wall on the border with Lebanon after heightened tension over a “false” security alert.

Israel used its Iron Dome air defense system Thursday morning to shoot at its own unmanned drone, which they mistook for an enemy drone.

Tension heightened on Lebanon’s southern border after that. Lebanese living close to the border said Israeli warplanes were flying at low altitudes above their villages.

In May, tensions between Israel and Lebanon increased in parallel with maneuvers conducted by the Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon.

Earlier, Hezbollah said its fighters were deployed along the border to counter any Israeli military move against Lebanon.

After an almost two-year hiatus, Israel resumed on Thursday the construction of the separation wall on its northern border with Lebanon.

Lebanese media reported that the Israeli army had begun building a concrete wall at the technical fence between the settlements of Zariit and Shtula on the Israeli side, and the Lebanese town of Ramyah.

Israel began the construction of the wall in 2019, closing several kilometers in the area adjacent to the coast and in the border area near the Galilee.

Lebanon remains vigilant of any Israeli military activity on its southern border after the parliamentary elections.

Israel seeks to install a floating platform in territorial waters to extract oil and gas from a maritime border area adjacent to the disputed area near the border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah had threatened to use missiles or drones to target the platform should Lebanon fail to reach an agreement with Israel to demarcate the maritime borders.

Lebanon rejected in April, without closing the door on negotiations, a US proposal regarding the demarcation of the sea border with Israel which it says would nibble 20 percent of the maritime area it is entitled to.



Large-scale Refugee Returns Could Overwhelm Syria, UN Migration Agency Chief Warns

Residents stand in line to buy bread from a bakery in Aleppo, Syria. (File/AP)
Residents stand in line to buy bread from a bakery in Aleppo, Syria. (File/AP)
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Large-scale Refugee Returns Could Overwhelm Syria, UN Migration Agency Chief Warns

Residents stand in line to buy bread from a bakery in Aleppo, Syria. (File/AP)
Residents stand in line to buy bread from a bakery in Aleppo, Syria. (File/AP)

Large-scale returns of refugees to Syria could overwhelm the country and even stoke conflict at a fragile moment following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, the head of the UN migration agency told reporters on Friday.
"We believe that millions of people returning would create conflict within an already fragile society," said Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, told a Geneva press briefing after a trip to the country. "We are not promoting large scale returns. The communities, frankly, are just not ready to absorb the people who are displaced."