Shebaa farms rocked by series of blasts

Huge blasts were heard Thursday in Shebaa Farms, the disputed area between Israel and Lebanon, where Hezbollah resistance forces and the Israeli occupying army often engage in fierce clashes, Reuters news agency reported, adding that the Israeli troops have been carrying out routine firing.

On the other hand, Hezbollah anti-occupation group denied attacking any Israeli targets in the area.

According to Israeli military sources, Israeli artillery fired rounds in the area "for range practice and as part of a routine defensive measure."

Witnesses reported earlier they saw Israeli forces pounding hillsides surrounding the Lebanese border villages of Kfar Shouba and Shebaa.

Hizbollah played a key role in ending 22-years of Israeli occupation to southern Lebanon in 2000. But battles between the two warring parties over the disputed area have never stopped since.

The United Nations considers the Shebaa Farms an Israeli-occupied Syrian land, claiming that the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon is complete, although both Lebanon and Syria assert that the area is still occupied Lebanese soil.

Last year the UN passed a resolution demanding Syria to pull out its forces from Lebanon and Hizbollah to disarm.

Facing mounting international pressure, especially after the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri in February, the Syrian government withdrew all its troops from Lebanon.

Middle East | Politics | |