Gen. Aoun: Army Ready to Confront Any Israeli Border Encroachment Attempt
Army Commander General Joseph Aoun announced Thursday that the army “maintains its readiness on the southern border to confront any Israeli military aggression or any attempt to encroach on parts of the territorial and maritime borders.”
“The army has the will to defend Lebanese rights through all the available assets and means, no matter how much the enemy’s threats and provocations may escalate,” Aoun said.
Last month Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in a pair of offshore zones, including one that Israel says belongs to it.
Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Lebanon while Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory.
Tensions between Lebanon and Israel have also mounted as Israel pursues the construction of a wall along the border.
Lebanon says part of the wall follows the U.N.-demarcated "Blue Line" drawn up after Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, and insists some sections will cut into its territory.
Israel has dismissed the claim and said the work is being carried out on Israeli territory.
Israel began building the wall in 2012, six years after fighting a devastating war with Lebanon’s Hizbullah.
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