Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Credit : Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — On the 17th anniversary of the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, denounced Israel's annexation of the northern part Ghajar which took place Thursday. Located on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of the Syrian Golan Heights, Ghajar is disputed between the two countries.
Berri also condemned the continued occupation of the Shebaa farms and the Kfar Shuba hills. At the beginning of July, the Israeli army built a fence to the north of the village of Ghajar, cutting it off from Lebanon. The village, which has an Alawite majority, is divided in two by the United Nations blue line.
On Thursday, Hezbollah called on the Lebanese government and people to take action against Israeli violations in Ghajar.
Berri's comments come as tensions have intensified in recent weeks along the border between Lebanon and Israel, where an exchange of fire took place last Thursday. After at least one unclaimed mortar shell was fired from Lebanon towards Israel, the Israeli army shelled the area around the neighboring villages of Kfar Shuba and Mazraat Halta with at least fifteen rockets.
In 2006, the last major confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah left more than 1,200 dead on the Lebanese side, mostly civilians, and 160 dead on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.