ISTANBUL

The Israeli army has built two concrete walls inside Lebanese territory, the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) said Friday, calling the construction a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

“In October, UNIFIL peacekeepers conducted a geospatial survey of a concrete T-wall erected by the Israeli army southwest of Yaroun,” UNIFIL said in a statement on US social media company X.

“The survey confirmed that the wall crossed the Blue Line, rendering more than 4,000 square meters of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people,” it added.

The Blue Line is the undemarcated line following Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

UNIFIL said it informed the Israeli army of the findings and requested the barrier be moved, without specifying Israel’s response.

“In November, peacekeepers observed additional T-wall construction in the area,” the mission said, noting that “a survey confirmed that a section of wall southeast of Yaroun also crossed the Blue Line.”

It said that it will formally notify the Israeli army of the findings.

UNIFIL stressed that the Israeli presence and construction on Lebanese territory represent “violations of Security Council resolution 1701” and Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The mission renewed its call for Israel to fully respect the Blue Line and withdraw from all areas north of it.

Resolution 1701, adopted on Aug. 11, 2006, calls for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and the establishment of a weapons-free zone between the Blue Line and Lebanon’s Litani River.

On Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called for halting Israel’s military escalation in the south, warning that it poses a threat to regional stability.

Tensions have been mounting in southern Lebanon for weeks, with the Israeli army intensifying near-daily air raids inside Lebanese territory, allegedly targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

The Israeli army has killed more than 4,000 people and injured nearly 17,000 in its attacks on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and turned into a full-scale offensive in September 2024.

Under a ceasefire declared in November 2024, the Israeli army was supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon this January but instead only partially pulled out and continues to maintain a military presence at five border outposts.