Lebanese Man Crosses into Israel after Serving Time in Jail

A Lebanese man on Thursday crossed the Blue Line into Israel, the Lebanese Army and the National News Agency said.

Identifying the man as Jihad Ahmed Shebli Saleh, the army said the man crossed from the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab and that the issue was being followed up in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

NNA said the man entered Israel after an Israeli force “opened a gap that helped him to cross the border.”

“He had fled into Israel with his collaborator father, Ahmed Shebli Saleh, upon the liberation of the South in the year 2000. Two years ago he crossed the border returning into Aita al-Shaab, also through the al-Raheb area,” the agency said.

“He was arrested by Lebanese Army intelligence agents and was put on a trial and after his release from prison he returned to the town and resided in it without being harassed by anyone,” the agency added.