Army Assures ‘Stable’ Situation on Border after Israeli Breaches

The Lebanese Army Command assured on Saturday that the situation on the southern border was stable following Israel’s provocative acts and breaches that included construction works along the Blue Line.

“The situation is stable. The army command coordinated efforts with the UN Interim Force in order to maintain stability along the Blue Line,” VDL radio 100.5 quoted the army command.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted unnamed military sources who said “there is a tendency to resolve the issue diplomatically.”

“The army is deployed along the border and is closely monitoring Israel's work. We are in full readiness if the situation develops, although we believe that no one is suited to the military escalation,” added the source.

On Thursday, Israel embarked on the construction of a border wall, placing cement blocks near the Miskav Aam settlement, that breached a number of points contested by Lebanon.

An army statement noted “the blocks had been placed without informing UNIFIL.”

A UNIFIL statement said after the first regular Tripartite meeting of 2019, that the “focus of discussions was on tunnels and ongoing engineering works near the Blue Line.”

Tripartite meetings between with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at the UN position in Ras Al Naqoura, have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war in south Lebanon as an essential conflict management and confidence building mechanism.