Israeli Road Project Increases Tensions on Lebanon Border

Yesterday, March 4, under the protection of two Merkava tanks, Israeli engineering corps vehicles approached and broke ground on a dirt road that Israel plans to build, starting from its positions along the Lebanese border in Ras al-Jabal all the way down to the Wazzani river, intersected by the Blue Line that separates both countries. Lebanon has voiced concern about the move, raising speculation that it might lead to heightened tensions along the border.

A high-ranking Lebanese Army officer gave Al-Monitor further details about this issue, which has been simmering behind the scenes for almost two weeks. He told Al-Monitor that the issue emerged late last month, when Israel sent Lebanon a letter through the command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) forces who are stationed in the area under UN Resolution 1701. The letter said that Israel planned to build a narrow road extending from its positions inside Israel all the way to the Blue Line along the Wazzani river. 

But Beirut rejected the plan on the grounds that the road would pass through a “technical area” — an area that, under Resolution 1701, falls between the armistice line drawn between Lebanon and Israel in 1948 and the Blue Line drawn following the July 2006 war. This technical area widens and narrows along the border, but in the Wazzani region it comprises occupied Syrian, not Lebanese, territory. Lebanon's reservation is in accord with international law, which prohibits work that might change the geographic features of occupied lands. 

Israel has nonetheless insisted on building the road, arguing that the road would let it access the Wazzani river to monitor the clarity and suitability of the river water for use by Israeli citizens. Israel uses water from the southern section of the Wazzani river, which passes through its territories, for its border villages; the northern section of the river passes through Lebanese and Syrian territories.