Southern Lebanon municipalities announce measures to regulate olive harvest

As the olive harvest season nears in southern Lebanon, the municipalities of the border villages of Blida and Houla (Marjayoun district) have asked residents to register before heading to their fields, so Israeli forces can be notified of their movements.

The Israeli army continues to carry out daily attacks on the South through strikes or machine-gun fire and still occupies at least six positions on hills in the area.

In a statement, Houla’s municipality urged residents planning to harvest olives to contact it in advance. The president of the municipal council, Ali Yassine, told L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon that the measure aims to "ensure the safety of farmers and residents," noting that "the Israeli enemy targets everything it sees, the latest example being the destruction of a cafe and a house in the village last night."

Several drone strikes overnight destroyed a building that housed an empty cafe. The day was otherwise relatively calm in southern Lebanon, except for a sound bomb fired in Ras Naqoura (Sour district).

"To ensure residents’ safety during the olive harvest, we’ve adopted a registration system and coordination with security authorities to facilitate farmers’ work and protect them from any potential attack," Yassine said.

Israel forbids movement

Yassine added that the municipality was informed that the Israeli army does not want to see any activity in the area. "The Israelis do not want to see any movement, activity, construction, or even a sign of life in their direct line of sight. That’s why they target anything visible to the naked eye, including South Council equipment," he explained.

Blida’s municipality, for its part, said it had coordinated with security authorities to ensure that "agricultural activities on border lands are carried out under appropriate conditions guaranteeing citizens’ safety."

It called on residents wishing to harvest or prune olive trees, plow land, or transport wood to register with the municipality by Saturday. "Further coordination will be ensured with the town hall to set suitable dates and locations in collaboration with security authorities," it said.

According to our correspondent, the Israeli army, through the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has required residents of border villages to obtain prior authorization to harvest olives or perform other agricultural work. The authorization must include the person’s name, farm location, type of work, number of people involved, phone number, and a photo of the vehicle to be used — details the Blida municipality has already requested from farmers.

Vast olive groves and farmlands across the South were burned during the war, destroyed by strikes and Israel’s use of white phosphorus bombs.

Frappes israéliennes : des municipalités du Liban-Sud annoncent des mesures pour encadrer la récolte des olives