Israeli violations persist in southern Lebanon where several breaches of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries occurred on Friday resulting in the injury of several Lebanese citizens and a Syrian worker.
The Israeli army also organized a visit for hundreds of “Haredim” to the "Cave of the Servants”, located on the Lebanese side of the border near the southern town of Houla.
Israel claims the site is linked to Rabbi Ashi, which has raised concerns in Lebanon that the "religious cover" could be exploited to justify a prolonged Israeli presence in Lebanese territory in the future.
The Israeli army organized the religious visit on Friday, which, according to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, involved approximately 900 Haredim who entered the "Rabbi Ashi" tomb on the Lebanese border under tight Israeli security measures.
The Lebanese army issued a statement in response, placing Israel’s action in the context of the “Israeli enemy's continued assaults and violations of Lebanon's sovereignty”.
"Elements of the enemy forces facilitated the entry of settlers to visit a claimed religious site in the Al-Abad area in Houla, southern Lebanon, representing a blatant violation of Lebanese national sovereignty”, added the statement.
It further emphasized that "the entry of settlers from Israel into Lebanese territory is a clear example of the enemy’s ongoing disregard for international laws, resolutions, and agreements, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 1701”.
The army statement noted that the situation is being monitored by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the five-member monitoring committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement.
The Times of Israel had reported that Israeli military forces escorted hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews on Friday morning to the burial site of a Babylonian scholar located on the border with Lebanon, after several weeks of illegal attempts to reach the site.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, retired Brigadier General and military expert Hassan Jouni, said the visit “aims to create a historical link between Lebanon and Israel through what they claim are Jewish sites in the south, which they assert they have the right to visit.
“This effectively links their presence in the south to a religious justification, thus cementing the military occupation and transforming it into a de facto reality, all under the guise of protecting Israeli religious rights and their entitlement to visit these sites", exclaimed Jouni.
