The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament warns of Israel’s hostility on the eve of the anniversary of the war

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Beirut July 12 warns Lebanese against Israel’s hostility, as the country marks the 17th anniversary of the 34-day war between Lebanon and Israel that began on July 12, 2006.

On Tuesday, Berri said, in a statement published by the official National News Agency, that “all Lebanese, regardless of their political, spiritual and partisan orientations and affiliations, must be aware of the hidden Israeli intentions.”

Berri’s remarks come amid border tensions between Israel and Lebanon over two tents erected by Hezbollah that Israel claimed were built on its territory, Xinhua reported.

The tents were erected in the hills of Kfar Shuba, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war and annexed in 1981 but claimed by Lebanon.

On Monday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib urged the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to pressure Israel to withdraw from the northern border village of Ghajar.

Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon, fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a UN-sponsored truce.

Israel was required to withdraw from the northern half of the village of Ghajar under a UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, though that has yet to happen.

Lebanese officials recently accused Israel of building a wall around the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar.

Last week, Hezbollah urged the government and people of Lebanon to take immediate measures to prevent Israeli settlement in the northern part of the village of Ghajar, in light of the recent Israeli construction work.

– Jans

int/khz