Another Arab Citizen Flees to Lebanon without Israeli Army Detection

 A general view shows central Tel Aviv backed by the Mediterranean Sea January 23, 2012. REUTER/ Nir Elias
A general view shows central Tel Aviv backed by the Mediterranean Sea January 23, 2012. REUTER/ Nir Elias
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Another Arab Citizen Flees to Lebanon without Israeli Army Detection

 A general view shows central Tel Aviv backed by the Mediterranean Sea January 23, 2012. REUTER/ Nir Elias
A general view shows central Tel Aviv backed by the Mediterranean Sea January 23, 2012. REUTER/ Nir Elias

Another Arab citizen from Israel has managed to cross the border into Lebanon without the Israeli army detecting them. The Israeli army was only aware of the situation after Lebanese media had reported on the matter.

The Israeli army spokesman said that intelligence services were examining Lebanese reports about an unidentified individual slipping across the border fence from Israel to Lebanon on Sunday.

According to the reports, the individual was arrested by the Lebanese intelligence after crossing the border in the Marj Oyoun valley.

He is currently being investigated by the Lebanese judiciary.

This is the second time within a week that a person crossed the border fence from Israeli territory into Lebanon.

Last week, Lebanese media reported that another person entered through the border with Israel.

The person crossed the border near the village of Dahira, which is parallel to the village of Aramsha on the Israeli side in the Western Galilee. It was reported in this incident as well that the Lebanese intelligence caught the suspect and put him under investigation.

Lebanese media also reported that the person who crossed the border last week is Farid Nizar Taher, a 30-year-old Arab Israeli.

The Israeli army said that “a person has been identified who crossed the border fence from Israeli territory into Lebanese territory. A dialogue is taking place in the coordination and liaison channels.”

An Israeli army spokesman revealed that his country was contacting intermediaries like UNIFIL to return the citizen home.

Last March, forces from the Israeli army discovered that a young man had crossed the border into Lebanon, so soldiers pursued him and arrested him while he was on Lebanese soil and returned him to the country, where the intelligence services interrogated and arrested him.

Borders between Israel and Lebanon extend over 145 kilometers, from Ras al-Naqoura on the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Shebaa Farms and Mount Hermon in the east.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.