ALBAWABA - UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon has received a request from the Israeli side to remove a tent set up by Hezbollah in a disputed area of Al Ghajar town.
In June, Israel filed a complaint to the United Nations that Hezbollah had set up tents only hundreds of meters away from Israeli territories. It is unknown what was inside the tents or the purpose behind setting them up in the area.
Israeli media claimed earlier this month that Hezbollah evacuated one of the two tents, however, no official statements have confirmed the evacuation from the Lebanese side.
The commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro has met high-profile Lebanese leaders, including caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, to voice out the Israeli demands.
Following the meeting, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib told reporters that the U.N. team has relayed the Israeli request that the tent be removed. He added that Lebanese officials told Lázaro that "we want them (Israelis) to withdraw from Ghajar which is considered Lebanese territory".
When Israel took the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, it also seized Al-Ghajar bordering town. After 18 years of Israel's presence in the southern parts of Lebanon, United Nations surveyors divided Al-Ghajar town between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan.
