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Israel to Construct 7-Meter High Wall along Lebanon Border | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Israeli soldiers patrolling the Israeli side of the Lebanese border near the Israeli town of Metula, on July 12, 2014. (AFP)


Tel Aviv – After months of delays, the Israeli army decided to launch the project to construct a seven-meter high wall along the border with Lebanon.

An electric fence and other barriers will also be set up along with the fortified cement wall.

Construction will begin immediately and border guards and the air force have been put on alert in anticipation of a possible “Hezbollah” retaliation against the measure before Israel even completes the wall.

The wall will extend from the Ras al-Naqoura in the West until the Galilee area near Jabal al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon) and the Shebaa Farms in the east.

Surveillance cameras and towers, command centers, intelligence equipment and various barriers will be part of the concrete wall.

The Israeli army predicts that the construction will likely increase tensions along the border with Lebanon.

The northern command is preparing itself for a “Hezbollah” operation that would “impede the building progress” under the excuse that the wall does not adhere to the border line that was demarcated by the United Nations after Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

The army is taking precautions against possible rallies to protest the construction and even attempted shootings against the constructors.

At a cost of 123 million shekels, the project will be complete in 2018.

A similar wall was built five years ago along the Egyptian-Israeli border. It was aimed at preventing the infiltration of gunmen and asylum seekers.

Last week, Israel revealed that “Hezbollah” had set up 15 new surveillance points along the border with Israel under the pretext of preserving the environment. Tel Aviv viewed the development as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.