Lebanon army on alert after reported IDF build-up on border
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Zohar Blumenkrantz and Irit Rosenblum, and DPA
Tension mounted Monday in southern Lebanon after Israeli forces reportedly advanced to the area of the Shaba farms, forcing the Lebanese army on alert, a Lebanese army source said.
The source said three armored Israeli vehicles, accompanied by a civilian car, advanced towards Shaba Farms, located at the junction of south-east Lebanon, south-west Syria and northern Israel.
Israel seized the 25-square-kilometre swath of land rich in water resources from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war when it captured the neighboring Golan Heights, which it later annexed.
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Since then, the Shaba Farms have been caught in a tug-of-war between the three nations. Lebanon claims, with the backing of Syria, that Shaba is Lebanese. Meanwhile, Israel says the area is part of Syria and that their fate should be discussed in future peace talks with Israel.
The Lebanese army, stationed on its side of the border, has been placed on high alert, deploying tanks and positioning soldiers inside fortifications, the Lebanese military source added.
