IDF Conducts ´Lebanon Attack´ Drill (INN) ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS) By Gabe Kahn 05/01/12)
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/155339#.T5_y57OO2So
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IDF forces carried out a series of contingency maneuvers along the
Blue Line on Tuesday to prepare for a possible attack as it
constructs a 6-meter high separation wall between Israel and Lebanon.
According to Lebanese sources, tens of Israeli soldiers were deployed
in the defacto border region and were visible from the border town of
Kfar Kila.
The troops – said to number in the "tens" – deployed using Hummers
and asked the construction company to evacuate the area for practice.
Villagers in Kfar Kila told the Lebanon Daily Star that IDF soldiers
were seen transferring pretend wounded army personnel to an ambulance
as part of an emergency scenario.
Other soldiers were said to have taken up positions at different
points along the fence.
Israel notified the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) earlier
Tuesday of the maneuvers, which in turn notified the Lebanese Army so
as to avoid unnecessary alarm.
The Lebanese Army deployed a similar sized force to observe after
informing UNIFIL that it expected the IDF not to cross the Blue Line
during the construction process.
Israel began construction of the separation wall between Lebanon and
the Jewish state on Monday. The wire fence currently in use will
eventually be replaced with 4-meter-high concrete blocks topped by 2-
meters of fencing and barbed wire.
Jerusalem says the wall, which will stretch from the former Jidar al-
Tayyib Gate to the Fatima Gate crossing, is intended to protect
residents of the border town of Metula, which faces Kfar Kila.
Lebanese officers were given topographical maps to follow the
construction as it happened and ensure that it met the prearranged
conditions.
Members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force worked with the
Israeli army to ensure that the wall was erected within Israeli
territory.
The Blue Line serves as a defacto border between Israel and Lebanon
based on a United Nations survey endorced by UN Security Council
Resolution 425.
On 25 May 2000, following Israel´s withdrawal from southern Lebanon,
Jerusalem notified the Secretary-General that Israel had redeployed
its forces in compliance with the resolution.
The decision to follow the UN recommendation came after Beirut
declined to participate in negotiations aimed at formally demarcating
its border with Israel.
Nonetheless, the Blue Line closely follows the internationally
recognized boundaries of Lebanon from 1949, but does differ by some
475 meters along half a dozen stretches.
Between 1950 and 1975 teams of Israeli and Lebanese surveyors did
complete a topographical survey of approximately 50% of the border
between the two nations, but no formal treaty was ever signed.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah members have placed pictures of Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad along the border road connecting Fatima
Gate to Adaysseh. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 05/01/12)
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