Jerusalem, August 05: Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to float a proposal for building a fence across the disputed village of Ghajar on the Lebanese border.
According to Israeli daily Haaretz, Lieberman intends to propose what he calls a permanent solution to the dispute over the village at the security cabinet’s meeting in the coming weeks.
Israel illegally annexed Ghajar in 1981 along with the Golan Heights in defiance of calls from the international community.
Following Tel Aviv’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2002 after a 22-year occupation, the UN delineated a border between Lebanon and Syria which cuts across the village.
The international body also urged a full Israeli withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar, which is inhabited mainly by Syrian Alawites.
Claudio Graziano, Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), earlier suggested Israel quit the northern part, handing over security responsibilities to UN forces, which would also prevent Lebanese civilians from entering the village.
The new proposal by Lieberman, however, suggests erecting a permanent fence along the international border and relocation of residents of the northern part of the village in the southern part. This means those who choose to remain in the north would lose their Israeli citizenship.
Beirut accuses Israel of continued violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which put an end to the Second Lebanon War, by retaining its occupation of the northern part of the border village.
—–Agencies