Beirut: Witnesses in Kfar Kila, a village on the Lebanese side of the border, on Monday claimed that Israeli military has begun building a wall along part of its border with Lebanon, media reported on Monday.
According to reports the witnesses saw Israeli soldiers removing the barb wire near the United Nations-designated Blue Line, and there were two bulldozers on the Israeli side.
Israeli media reported last week that Israel was planning to build a 2-km long and 10-meter high wall between Kfar Kila and Metulla on the Israeli side.
On Sunday, U.N. peacekeepers installed a tarp on the construction site, the witnesses said.
Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in Lebanon in 2006, after which some 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers were deployed in the area to monitor the truce. In that war, 1,200 Lebanese were killed – mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis – mostly soldiers.
Israel says the purpose of the wall is to protect the town of Metulla.
