Lebanese Resistance: People Raise Flag in Protest of Israeli Occupation in Kfar Shuba

During the last hours, all eyes turned towards the occupied town of Kfar Shuba, southern Lebanon, in the wake of the tensions that the village, located at the Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian border triangle, witnessed with the Israeli occupation forces.

The heights and hills of the town witnessed, on Friday morning, clashes between a number of young men from the area of ​​Al-Arqoub and Kfar Shuba, with the support of the Lebanese army, in confrontation with the occupation forces, to emphasize the “Lebaneseness” of the hills of Kfar Shuba and the Shebaa Farms, and not to recognize the so-called “withdrawal line”, which I drew. The United Nations after the withdrawal of the occupation and the liberation of the south in the year 2000.

Those who ignited the spark for these events were the Israeli occupation forces, which were unusually active during the previous days in the Arqoub area, specifically in the Kfar Shuba hills. These forces are trying to bring about a change in the features of the area, by digging trenches and leveling lands, in preparation for the extension of a new iron fence, between the site of Al-Samaqa and the Hassan Gate, adjacent to the Baathel pool in the outskirts of the town.

Two days ago, it was the beginning of the escalation. The son of the town, Abu Bilal Khalifa, confirmed Al-Mayadeen Net That the occupation forces had brought giant bulldozers that day, and began to advance at the “withdrawal line”, and dug trenches from the Majidiyeh area to the Kfar Shuba Hills to the borders of the Shebaa Hills, to install stone blocks at a point beyond the line. The people of the village could not bear this aggression, so part of the shepherds who owned the land prevented the Israeli bulldozers from digging new trenches in the land and destroying it, according to what he continued.

The hero of this scene was the son of the town, the farmer Ismail Nasser, who was shown by the camera lenses facing the Israeli attack with his body, to stand steadfast with “live meat” in the face of the Israeli armored bulldozer that attacked his land, stressing that “this land is the land of the ancestors, and we will not abandon it or leave it.” for Israel.”

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“The whole life is just a pause of glory!”

A hero from southern Lebanon resists with his body the Zionist attack and stands steadfast in the face of an Israeli armored military bulldozer that attacked his land

It’s the farmer #Ismail _ Nasser from town #kfarshouba #Lebanon@mayadeenlebanon pic.twitter.com/z0mnZejEFU

– Al Mayadeen Channel (@AlMayadeenNews) June 7, 2023

As a result, the Lebanese army and the international “peacekeeping” forces – “UNIFIL” – mobilized their personnel, while an Israeli tank accompanied the bulldozer, which was forced to retreat and complete the work from behind the “withdrawal line”, accompanied by Israeli soldiers who gathered behind a hill overlooking the place in Occupied territories from the side of occupied Palestine.

Later, the people were able to enter Lebanese lands behind the “withdrawal line” that were under the control of the Israeli occupation, and they raised the Lebanese flag on a hill in it, opposite the site of Al-Samaqa, stressing that this land does not accommodate two identities, “either us, or us.”

However, it did not end here.

People of the Earth “Lookout”

“Since the occupation of this land, the Israeli enemy has been working day and night to grab territory and expand on it,” Abu Bilal Khalifa tells us. Indeed, on Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces carried out bulldozing operations outside what is known as the “withdrawal line”, and the townspeople hastened to confront them.

And the matter was not limited to this point, as the occupation soldiers also installed metal wires near this line, to prevent the crossing of shepherds and farmers into the occupied lands, as happened the day before.

However, this act did not go unnoticed by the people, as, on Friday, dozens of residents of Kafr Shuba, Shebaa, Kafr Hamam, and the rest of the villages of Al-Arqoub flocked to implement a vigil, denouncing the bulldozing and changing the features of the land.

Of course, this sit-in witnessed great solidarity from the people of the neighboring villages with the people of Kfar Shuba, as Khalifa L.for fields net A large part of the people of the southern villages “supported us and participated with us in the demonstration,” noting that the town’s youths removed the barbed wire placed by the Israeli occupation, and filled a tunnel that it built in the area.

He added that the Israeli occupation forces “smoked us with smoke bombs in response to these demonstrations,” stressing that more than 11 people were injured due to the barbed wire, in addition to tear gas suffocation.

In the meantime, the occupation forces brought a Merkava tank and soldiers from the occupied site of Samaqah to the point of tension with the Lebanese army in Kfar Shuba. On the other hand, the Lebanese army units ambushed at the borders to protect the sit-in, directing their weapons at the military mechanism of the occupation, thus confirming that their will to fight is firm and unwavering.

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“Lebanese army soldiers take combat positions at a point #kfarshouba border in the face of the occupation soldiers.

Reporter #fields Abbas Sabbagh#Lebanon @abbas_sabbagh pic.twitter.com/TAh2Wk5yQl

– Al Mayadeen Channel (@AlMayadeenNews) June 9, 2023

At this time, the “UNIFIL” forces, as usual, contented themselves with watching the occupation forces during their assault on the people, under the pretext that excavations were taking place behind the “withdrawal line”, while the army deployed in the border area.

In defiance of the occupation forces, the people of Kafr Shuba and al-Arqoub performed the prayer at noon near the “withdrawal line” strip, where the soldiers were deployed on alert, before they left the area after a relative calm.

Also read: Confirmation of the Lebanese land.. The army installs points in Kfar Shuba, southern Lebanon

Long history of resistance

Although it was the first time that the occupying forces dared to change the features of the region since their withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, yet, during all their hostile actions during the last days in the Kfar Shuba hills, their bulldozers did not dare to cross the “withdrawal line”, even for a single metre.

What happened there is not surprising, as the town is known for its resistance to the occupiers and enemies since the days of Roman rule, and to the successive occupiers during the past decades, according to historians. Kfar Shuba was an important site for the Turkish and French armies in the past, as the townspeople were known to confront the two armies. The resistance of the people of Kfarshouba to the aggression, in its various forms, continued over the years, leading to its resistance to the Israeli occupation, as it was one of the first villages to oppose it.

The youth of Kfar Shuba became famous during the period of the Israeli occupation for their resistance to this occupation, as the town offered a number of martyrs, in addition to placing dozens of its youth in the detention centers and cells of Ansar, Al-Khiam, Marjayoun, Hasbaya, Atlit and Ashkelon in occupied Palestine.

Historically, the Israeli occupation forces attacked and invaded the town several times in the years 1970 and 1972, and occupied it in 1975 when they demolished almost the entire village and damaged most of the houses. Its last invasion took place in 1982, according to which the village was occupied until May 25, 2000, when the occupation army withdrew from southern Lebanon, with the exception of the Shebaa farms and the Kfar Shuba hills.

The right of the Lebanese Magsoob

Geographically, the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba area is located in the part between Lebanon and Syria. This part was demarcated and confirmed in the year 1946, according to the work of the Ghazzawi and Khatib Committee, which is a specialized Lebanese-Syrian committee, consisting of a Lebanese judge, Rafiq Ghazzawi, and a Syrian judge, Adnan Al-Khatib. .

In this regard, the retired Lebanese Brigadier General and expert in military affairs, Amin Hoteit, said, Al-Mayadeen NetHe said, “When we were assigned in the year 2000 to verify the Israeli defeat from southern Lebanon, we reached the stage of confirming the border line, which is the line that separates Lebanon and Palestine, and the line that separates Lebanon and Syria.”

He continued by saying, “We presented the United Nations with maps and documents confirming the border line, in its Palestinian and Syrian parts,” noting that the United Nations “tried to maneuver” because it wanted to keep the occupation in the Kafr Shuba area and the Shebaa Farms.

According to Hoteit, after a discussion, Lebanon and the United Nations reached an understanding according to which Lebanon adheres to its international borders that reach Wadi al-Assal, while the United Nations adheres to its line, which was called the “withdrawal line”, with a Lebanese-international understanding that the reserved reality on the ground remains as it is without touch or modify.

Accordingly, there were 3 Israeli military centers in the areas of the Kfar Shuba Hills and Shebaa Farms, which are “Ruwaisat Al-Alam”, “Samaqa” and “Hermon”, and these centers remained as they were, awaiting a solution, according to what the Lebanese brigadier general continued.

After Lebanon’s victory in the 2006 war, and according to the Security Council resolution that year after the Israeli aggression, the United Nations mandated UNIFIL forces to search for a solution to the Shebaa Farms to end the occupation there, but this solution has not yet come.

Also read: Israeli media: It is not the first time that the Lebanese army has raised arms against our army

The enemy “feels the pulse”

23 years ago, and the reality of the Kfar Shuba Hills and the Shebaa Farms is a reality based on three elements. The first is Lebanon’s claim and proof of Lebanese farms, along with Syrian support for Lebanon in its position. The second element is “the international rejection of the demands, and reservations pending a solution to the Middle East issue.” As for the third element, it is “keeping the situation unchanged on the ground, without progress or retreat, pending a solution.”

Hoteit believes that “Israel” has a plan that it has formulated in order to gnaw at some of the Lebanese lands in that region, in which it adopts a strategy of “feeling the pulse”. “As if nothing had happened.

Herein lies the importance of the action taken by the people of the region, supported by the Lebanese army, in rejecting the bulldozing actions, because in this refusal and in the protest movement, the occupation failed in the strategy of “feeling the pulse”.

The Lebanese brigadier general confirmed Al-Mayadeen Net That the “withdrawal” line claimed by the United Nations is an imaginary line that has no legal value, stressing that what has legal value is the international border line, with Palestine and Syria.

Hoteit considered that at this particular stage, there is something new that happened to the Israeli occupation, on which it relied to draw lines and barbed wire, explaining that after the last resistance maneuver in Armata, the enemy found, in its study of its defense structure, that the Shebaa Farms area is a “soft side” through which the resistance fighters could penetrate. Therefore, he proceeded to build fortifications and constructions in that area, to support his defensive position.

He also stressed that the Israeli occupation has geographic, economic and security interests in the Shebaa Farms area, especially as it is considered the “western key” to the occupied Syrian Golan, so it clings to this area.

According to him, the Shebaa Farms area and the Golan Heights “include an underground water lake. When the enemy settles the situation and resolves the conflict, and the area remains, as he believes in his hand, he can benefit from the large water reservoir.”

Meanwhile, he stressed that the Lebanese resistance in confronting the enemy strictly depends on the “principle of proportionality and necessity”, and in this regard it knows where, when and how to intervene if it threatens national security or national sovereignty.

There is no doubt that the resistance is today considered to be at the highest level of its readiness. If the occupation persists in provoking it and does not respond to popular and military pressure, and the Lebanese state does not take the initiative to do what it must, then it will be “the last ironing pill” and the resistance will have another opinion on this matter. And everyone knows that the resistance is holding the trigger, and it is always ready and does not miss an issue when its time comes.