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Israeli forces assault, teargas Lebanese journos, MP near border village

Israeli forces (not seen in the picture) fire tear gas on a group of Lebanese activists, journalists and a legislator, who are demanding the withdrawal of the troops from the northern sector of the divided border village of Ghajar, on the outskirts of Shebaa Farms, July 15, 2023. (Photo by al-Mayadeen television news network)

Israeli forces have assaulted and fired tear gas canisters at a group of Lebanese activists, journalists and a legislator, who were demanding the withdrawal of the troops from the northern sector of the divided border village of Ghajar after the regime cut it off from the Arab nation recently.

Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that the demonstrators converged on the outskirts of the Shebaa Farms, which have been under Israeli occupation since 1967, on Saturday afternoon, and protested against the seizure of the strategic territory.

Several protesters suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling the tear gas.

Qassem Hashem, a member of the Development and Liberation bloc in the Lebanese parliament, was among the participants.

“There are no red lines as regards the occupied parts of Lebanese lands. We reserve the right to reach any spot in Kfarchouba [village] and Shebaa Farms,” Hashem said.

He censured the military aggression against Lebanese protesters, describing it as a clear indication of the savage nature of the Israeli enemy.

Ghajar lies in a strategic corner where the boundaries between Syria, Lebanon and occupied Palestinian territories meet. It was occupied by Israel in the war of July 2006. Some 2,000 people live there.

Most of the villagers still consider themselves Syrian Shia Muslims, the community which Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is part of. 

In November 2010, Israel approved a plan to withdraw from the northern part of the village. Until this day, however, the regime has not stepped back. 

In recent weeks, Lebanese officials have said Israel has built a wall around the Lebanese part of Ghajar, warning that it might annex the area to the occupied part of the village.

Last week, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah issued a harsh statement, calling Israel’s works around the Lebanese part of Ghajar as “dangerous.” It said the wall is separating the area “from its natural and historic surroundings in Lebanon.”

Almost at the same time that the Hezbollah statement on Ghajar was issued, an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon near Ghajar — with some fragments landing in Lebanon and others inside the Israeli-occupied territory. Israel fired shells on the outskirts of the nearby village of Kfarchouba.


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