BEIRUT — Israel started building a new wall along its border with Lebanon on Feb. 8. No official reason was given, but the last time Israel built a wall along the border in 2012, it was to “avoid friction.”

In 2012, the 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) wall was erected next to the village of Kfar Kila in Lebanon. “This used to be a touristic area. People would come and take pictures of themselves in front of occupied Palestine,” Abu Ali, a local from Kfar Kila, told Al-Monitor, pointing to the small replica of the Dome of the Rock that stands in the middle of the village’s roundabout. Today, the wall, which is between 7-10 meters high (23-33 feet), completely obstructs the view of the Israeli town of Metulla. Several jeeps of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the area, and intelligence officers of the Lebanese army dressed in civilian clothes keep an eye on visitors.

Hezbollah, the powerful pro-Iranian Lebanese party headed by Hassan Nasrallah and whose power base lies in south Lebanon, has taken over the decoration of the wall. Drawings and graffiti are resolutely anti-Israeli: “Palestine shines,” “The resistance is always ready,” “Nasrallah, we are with you.” Others are more mundane: “Malak, Ali loves you.”

The centerpiece of the wall is covered with dozens of pictures of Hezbollah and Amal (another Lebanese Shiite party) “martyrs.” The biggest one, of Abdallah Mahmoud Atawi, a suicide bomber who drove a car packed with 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of explosives into two Israeli convoys in 1988, is nearly as high as the wall. A cease-fire has largely been maintained along the frontier since Israel fought a war against Hezbollah in 2006.