BEIRUT: Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement and built an earthen barrier overnight Friday, Lebanese state media and the local mayor said.
“An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar Al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight... and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.
An AFP correspondent saw the barrier, built at the village’s eastern entrance. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area.
Zawtar Al-Gharbiya was one of two designated “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army was to take over as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel in the wake of the latter’s invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon.
The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war by launching rockets at Israel, which responded with a widespread bombing campaign and a ground invasion.
