Middle East Monitor / July 17, 2023
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said last week that Israel has to leave certain points along the border with Lebanon, Anadolu has reported. He referred specifically to Ghajar village.
In a televised speech to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the 34-day war between Lebanon and Israel in 2006, Nasrallah said that “liberating Ghajar is the responsibility of the Lebanese people, state and resistance.” He pointed out that Israel has finished building a wall around the northern part of Ghajar and turned it into a tourist area.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry warned on 4 July that Israel was seeking to expand the occupation zone in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which banned entry to the northern part of Ghajar. According to Hezbollah earlier this month, Israel had occupied the entire village.
Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib reiterated on 10 July that Israel should withdraw from Ghajar. The next day, the Lebanese government complained to the UN that Israel had completely occupied the village. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Israel was responsible for 18 violations of Lebanese sovereignty on the border.
Following the 1967 war, Israel occupied Ghajar in the Golan Heights. It annexed the area unilaterally in 1981.
Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, including the northern part of Ghajar, but retained control of its southern area. The Lebanese village remained a military zone for 22 years, with Israel opening it to Israeli tourists in November last year.
