NOW Correspondent Amal Shehadeh reported on Saturday that the Israeli military described the event in which 30 Lebanese crossed the line of withdrawal in southern Kfar Shouba on the Lebanese-Israeli border on Friday as “a very dangerous act and a serious violation of UN Resolution 1701.”   

UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane told the National News Agency on Friday evening that 30 people from Kfar Shouba crossed the withdrawal line at 11:30 am and broke through the electric fence separating Lebanese and Israeli territories, and raised a Lebanese and a Hezbollah flag over an Israeli post.

Earlier reports by an AFP correspondent said that 70 Lebanese, led by Development and Liberation bloc MP Qassem Hashem, cut through barbed wire and marched on the post which Israel set up earlier this week.

The Israeli military said it held the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL responsible for not preventing the protestors from breaking through the electric fence and onto what it says is Israeli territory. It also deployed additional forces along the Blue Line.

"The area where the IDF (Israeli army) activity took place is south of the line of withdrawal - which is south of UNIFIL's area of operation - so it is not in UNIFIL's jurisdiction," UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane countered in an interview with AFP.

A military official said that the Israeli military refrained from opening fire on the Lebanese crossing the withdrawal line because they were unarmed.

“Hezbollah’s supporters committed a provocative act which is a message to Israel with the approach of a possible prisoner deal between Israel and Hezbollah,” the Israeli official said.

An Israeli security official said that he considered Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s regarding prisoner Yehya Skaff and Lebanese corpses in Israel to be “a dangerous message” that demonstrates Hezbollah is planning to execute more kidnapping operations in order to bargain with Israel over their return.

-NOW Staff/AFP