A street in the Lebanese village of Houla in the Marjayoun district, facing the Rav Ashi site near Manara, Israel, Feb. 18, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Four ultra-Orthodox Israelis were arrested by the Israeli army after illegally crossing the border into Lebanon on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Israeli media report. They allegedly threw stones at approaching army soldiers, reports Haaretz. According to the newspaper, they were seeking to visit what is traditionally considered the tomb of the Babylonian rabbi Rav Ashi, near Manara.
According to The Times of Israel, this site is located on the Blue Line, within a militarized area, wedged between an Israeli army post and a UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) base. It faces the Lebanese village of Houla, in the Marjayoun district.
A similar incident last Saturday
This is the second such incident this week. On the night of Saturday to Sunday, about 20 ultra-Orthodox Israelis had already illegally entered Lebanon before being arrested by Israeli army soldiers, for a similar reason according to Yedioth Ahronoth. Crossing the Lebanese border is punishable by up to four years in prison in Israel.
On Dec. 5, several families from the South Lebanon Settler Movement arrived at the border and crossed the Blue Line by several meters. An account on X named Trusted Sources shared images purportedly showing settlers setting up tents in Maroun al-Ras (Bint Jbeil district), in southern Lebanon. The settlers carried flags reading "Lebanon is ours."
This new incident occurred as the cease-fire agreement concluded at the end of November 2024 between Lebanon and Israel, under U.S. auspices, came to an end following a 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. More than 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon during this war, which significantly worsened last September.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
