» 01/03/2012 14:38 ISRAEL – LEBANON Israel to build wall on Lebanon border, fence on Jordan border
The five-metre barrier will be equipped with alarms. Construction begins in the next few days. Prime Minister Netanyahu announces that once a fence is completed on Israel-Egypt border, another will be built along the border with Jordan.
Tel Aviv (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Israel has begun preparations for the construction of a five-metre-high wall on the country’s northern ceasefire line with Lebanon. The initial one -kilometre long section will be equipped with alarms and separate Israeli kibbutz al-Matala from the Lebanese village Kafr Kala, which lie near each other.
The wall is the first of its kind along the frontier with Lebanon. The border between Israel and Lebanon is disputed by both sides and the UN-drawn "Blue Line" separating the two sides only covers part of the stretch established in 2000 to determine whether Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon after its 1982 invasion.
The government of Israel is planning to construct a wall, which would separate its northernmost town from a Lebanese village in a bid to reduce tensions in the area.
Border tensions have been high in the past. In November 2011, a series of four Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon into the Western Galilee area of northern Israel. No one was injured. The Sheikh Abdullah Azzam Brigades later claimed responsibility for the attack.
"The situation is very sensitive and has a potential to easily inflame the northern border," a senior officer in the Israeli army’s Northern Command is quoted as saying.
"The wall will be the first of its kind on that border, and will raise the level of security in the area, as well as the confidence of Metulla's residents,” he explained. Still, “the Lebanese side will most likely raise objections to the wall, but the current reality necessitates its construction”.
The Lebanon wall is not the only structure planned. In a related development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced that Israel plans to build a barrier along its eastern border with Jordan, similar to the one currently under construction along its border with Egypt.
The government is investing some US$ 360 million in a five-metre steel fence along its 240-km-long western border, which is scheduled for completion by September of this year.
"When the security barrier along the Egyptian border is finished, one will be built along the border with Jordan," Netanyahu said.
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