An AFP correspondent saw this embankment blocking a road, at the eastern entrance to the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya.
The Lebanese army was deployed in July in this first “pilot zone” whose surroundings had been evacuated by Israel in accordance with a framework agreement signed at the end of June between Lebanon and Israel, under American sponsorship.
“A force of the Israeli occupation army advanced into Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight (…) and erected a new earthen embankment near the village square,” reported the National News Agency (Ani), official media. This is a “violation” of the agreement, denounced a Lebanese military source to AFP.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The framework agreement provides for the deployment of the Lebanese army and the gradual Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, which it has partly occupied since the pro-Iranian Hezbollah reopened hostilities in early March, in support of Tehran targeted by an Israeli-American offensive.
The withdrawal is conditional on the disarmament of the Islamist movement, which refuses to do so and is not party to the discussions.
Around fifty families have returned to Zawtar al-Gharbiya since the end of July, Mayor Abed Ezzeddine told AFP, adding that they were “surprised” to discover the embankment on Saturday morning.
Lebanon and Israel concluded their seventh session of negotiations on Thursday. According to a source within the Lebanese presidency, the Israelis refused to discuss new withdrawal zones, wanting to first ensure the effective control of the Lebanese army of the “pilot zones” provided for by the agreement.
An Israeli official told AFP that the extension of this process was “not automatic” and would depend on the results observed.
Despite a ceasefire in force since June, Israel still carries out occasional strikes and demolitions of buildings in southern Lebanon. On Saturday, the Ani agency reported several strikes.
