Israeli tank enters disputed area with Lebanon
ADAYSSEH, Lebanon: An Israeli tank briefly entered a disputed border area with Lebanon Thursday after the alert was sounded over people picking thyme and thistle in the volatile zone, an army spokesman said.
“The Merkava tank entered a zone claimed by Lebanon,” the Lebanese Army spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
A security official in the area said the tank advanced 4 meters into the disputed Blue Line before withdrawing.
Lebanese Army and troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon were at the site.
The alarm was sounded after several people were seen in the area and it was later determined they had been picking thyme and thistle, both used in Lebanese dishes.
The Blue Line is a U.N.-drawn border between the two countries established in 2000. Both Lebanon and Israel have challenged the accuracy of the Blue Line in several locations.
Thursday’s incident took place near the village of Adaysseh, scene of a deadly border clash last August between Israel and Lebanon. That incident erupted after Israeli troops cut down several trees along the border, in an area claimed by Lebanon.
The clashes that erupted over the tree-cutting operation left two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead as well as a senior Israeli officer.