Israeli Gunboat Violates Lebanese Waters, Threatens Fishermen
An Israeli military vessel violated Lebanon's territorial waters at dawn Monday and threatened a Lebanese fishing boat.
“In a new violation of Lebanese sovereignty and (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 1701, a gunboat belonging to the Israeli enemy violated the Lebanese territorial waters off Ras al-Naqoura at 3:40 am,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.
It added that the vessel crossed 10 meters into Lebanon's waters and threatened the crew of a Lebanese fishing boat.
The army coordinated with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the wake of the incident, the statement said.
On Friday, Israeli troops and armored vehicles combed the border area, carrying out thorough monitoring of the Lebanese side.
And on Thursday, a 20-member Israeli unit advanced towards al-Wazzani river on the southern border, raising alert among Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers.
Israeli troops regularly cross the electronic border fence and sometimes enter Lebanese territory through the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line, which was drawn up following Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.
The fence runs parallel to the Blue Line.
On January 28, two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others wounded as Hizbullah waged a missile attack on their vehicles that were traveling inside the occupied Shebaa Farms.
Hizbullah said the operation was in response to a deadly Israeli air raid that killed six of its fighters, including prominent members, in Syria's Quneitra.
Y.R.
M.T.
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