A concrete threat: Why Israel's new border wall endangers Lebanon's fragile truce

Last week, media sources reported that Israeli forces began constructing a concrete wall south of the Blue Line - the internationally recognised border with Lebanon - between the village of Avivim (northern Israel) and the military post at Jal al‑Deir, opposite the Lebanese towns of Maroun al‑Ras and Aitaroun.

Images circulating online show that sections of the construction extend beyond the Blue Line, which is the provisional boundary drawn by the UN after Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the separation wall, which reportedly stretches one to two kilometres inside Lebanese territory, is said to be positioned near one of the five strategic sites that Israel continues to occupy along the Blue Line.  

Al Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib clarified that the new wall is being built within Israeli-controlled territory and does not violate Lebanese land. He explained that the violation is caused by the newly established military site in Jabal al-Blat, south of Aitaroun, which is part of the areas occupied by Israeli troops during the ceasefire.

Talking to The New Arab, Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based expert who covers the politics and security affairs of Lebanon, observed that there is often confusion in Lebanon when Israelis build north of the physical barrier, as many assume the work is on Lebanese land, though it may still fall on Israel’s side of the Blue Line.

The confusion, he specified, comes from the fact that “the physical barrier follows terrain chosen for Israeli security, rather than the exact path of the Blue Line”.

Under the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, Israel was required to withdraw fully from southern Lebanon following last year’s devastating war with Hezbollah. Instead, it maintains its presence at five border outposts beyond the border it seized during the conflict and refuses to withdraw unless the Iran-backed movement is disarmed.

Washington has endorsed Tel Aviv’s position, warning that Lebanon could face a wider Israeli campaign unless the Lebanese militant group relinquishes its weapons.

Over recent months, Israel has threatened a new military escalation against Lebanon, arguing that the Lebanese military has failed to act quickly to dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal.

UNIFIL stated on Friday that the wall between Aitaroun and Maroun al Ras, which Israel has been building for a few weeks now, sits south of the Blue Line, that is, on the Israeli side of the border.

However, recent geospatial surveys conducted by the peacekeeping mission confirmed that newly built Israeli wall segments near Yaroun cross the Blue Line into Lebanese territory, cutting off more than 4,000 square metres of Lebanese land.

The UN interim force, which has been working with the Lebanese army to consolidate a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, said that the “Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity", referring to a UN resolution that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The mission again urged the Israeli army to abide by the Blue Line in its entirety and pull back from all areas north of it. “We again call on the IDF to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it,” it reiterated.

Israel has denied any breach of the UN-demarcated border, insisting that its new barrier lies fully within its own territory. Lebanon plans to file a complaint to the UN Security Council against Israel for constructing the concrete T-wall.

Israel’s construction of border walls is not a new development for Lebanon. Tel Aviv began building a concrete barrier along the Israel-Lebanon frontier in 2012. By 2020, around 15 km had been erected. Building resumed in 2022 as part of a broader border-reinforcement plan, according to the Israeli military.

“I believe this won’t stop here. Israel will press ahead to complete the wall,” Hussein Chokr, a policy researcher, said in an interview with TNA. He suggested that the Israeli army is likely to use its “upper hand”, potentially extending parts of the wall into Lebanese territory.

For the conflict analyst, wall-building activity is part of a continued pattern of Israeli violations that heighten the risk of escalation and put additional strain on an already fragile ceasefire.

In Chokr’s view, the latest wall construction reflects Israel’s ongoing fear of a potential ground attack from Lebanon, a worry that has grown since the Hamas assault on 7 October.  He believes that the new wall section, which does not cross into Lebanese land, indicates that Israel is acting out of security concerns.

That said, the specialist maintained: “If the opportunity arises, Israel is likely to annex more land in Lebanon, just as it seeks to push for similar expansion in Syria, Egypt, and Jordan, like what we see in the West Bank and Gaza”.  

Likewise, Ali Rizk, a Beirut-based security and political analyst, told TNA that Israel is aiming to expand its presence in Lebanese territory, having carried out land infiltrations there in the past.

“A very realistic possibility is that they try to pursue a Syria-like scenario in Lebanon”, he anticipated, adding that Hezbollah is the only obstacle, which explains the intense pressure for its disarmament.

For the political observer, building walls may be aimed at Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s political base, portraying him as a protector at home. It could also be a move, he continued, to take advantage of Hezbollah’s current weakness, allowing Israel to assert greater control along the border.

Since last year’s war, Israel has pursued actions to fortify its territorial control inside Lebanon, including strengthening the physical barrier along the northern frontier, while signalling attempts at expanding its presence within the neighbouring country.

Reports of the new wall’s building coincide with regular breaches of the ceasefire deal with Lebanon. In recent weeks, Israel has intensified airstrikes across southern Lebanon, claiming to be targeting Hezbollah fighters and assets.

Nearly a year since the truce that ended the latest Lebanon-Israel war, UNIFIL has documented close to 7,000 Israeli airspace violations and over 2,400 ground and aerial military activities. More than 300 people, including at least 100 civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, with 15 fatalities recorded since the start of November alone. 

UNIFIL itself came under fire on Sunday from an Israeli army post inside southern Lebanon, an incident the stabilisation force called a “serious violation” of Resolution 1701, which bars any armed forces in the south other than UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army. The peacekeepers made clear that this was not the first time Israeli actions had put their staff at risk.

“Over the past month, there’s been a notable uptick in Israeli attacks. They’re striking deeper inside Lebanon,” Rizk remarked, deeming it an escalation on all fronts. In particular, he cited a recent Israeli incursion into the town of Blida. Following that incident, Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun warned that the Lebanese army would repel any Israeli land operation in the liberated southern territories.

The analyst stressed that the latest barrier construction is only one aspect of the broader situation in Lebanon, where the foremost concern for Lebanon is to secure Israel’s withdrawal from the five occupied positions, stop its attacks, and ensure it commits to the ceasefire.

“Israel has been breaching Lebanon’s sovereignty daily, not just through airstrikes and aerial reconnaissance, but also by sending troops across the border, occupying hilltops, raiding villages, and demolishing homes,” Blanford said.

The security consultant pointed out that Israeli forces have carried out extensive destruction on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line, resulting in numerous villages flattened and vegetation uprooted. 

Chokr similarly noted that beyond the wall construction, Israeli air attacks and the shelling of farmlands in southern border villages pose a much graver threat, cutting off residents’ livelihoods. In the case of Aitaroun, for example, he said that Israeli strikes targeting over a third of the village have prevented residents from accessing agricultural lands that sustain most local families.

“The objective is to make life increasingly difficult by destroying people’s means of subsistence,” the Lebanon specialist affirmed. By crippling agriculture, he argued, Israel is creating conditions that push people toward forced displacement by making it impossible to remain.

Alessandra Bajec is a freelance journalist currently based in Tunis

Follow her on Twitter: @AlessandraBajec