The Israeli government has gone into a frenzy after the Lebanese Resistance, Hezbollah, planted reconnaissance tents in the Bistara Farm that borders the Occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms.

The move came after increased Israeli hostilities on Lebanese territories in which bulldozers were deployed on the outskirts of the Kfar Shouba hills to dig up trenches in order to push further into liberated Lebanese areas. This marked yet another Israeli provocation to Lebanon's territorial integrity entrenching on the properties and the lives of Southerners.

Continuous provocations come in line with Israeli attempts to enforce and solidify its presence in occupied Lebanese territories, which hold notable economic, military, and strategic value. This piece will highlight the importance of the Occupied Shebaa Farms as a fortress to the Occupied Syrian Golan heights and the Syrian and Palestinian interiors.

History of Shebaa Farms and Bistara

The Shebaa and Bistara Farms belong to a pivotal intersection point between various topographies.  Britain and France occupied these areas after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, creating political entities in which they would exert their colonial subjugation along arbitrarily drawn lines. These newly formed states would take into account solely their economic and military interests while disregarding historical roots, topographies, and most importantly the societies that inhabited these areas.

The Shebaa Farms are located at the South Eastern borders of the Lebanese territories, placed at an intersection between the Syrian Golan Heights and the Jabal Aamel; a mountainous range that extends from Lebanon into Palestine.

"Shebaa" in Shebaa Farms corresponds to the name of the village from which Lebanese villagers descended as they were on a journey to develop the strip of land for agricultural purposes. In 1967, "Israel" unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights and the Shebaa Farms, pushing its dwellers into the Bistara village. Those people followed their peasant tradition and developed the Bistara to fit their agricultural purposes. It is important to note that the Israeli annexation of these territories has not been recognized by any country or international organization other than the United States, which did so under the Trump administration.

Bistara was later occupied when "Israel" invaded Lebanon in 1982 and was eventually liberated in 2000. Hezbollah planted the reconnaissance tents in the Bsitara village in response to excavation work carried out by Israeli bulldozers that attempted to run over a villager in the area as an apparent direct reaction.

The man in question is Ismail Nasser, a Lebanese villager who hails from Shebaa, who confronted the armored bulldozer's operator standing in front of the machine, as he risked his life to halt the advancing vehicle. 

Lebanese farmer, Ismail Nasser, was seen standing in the face of an Israeli bulldozer to defend his land against Israeli aggression on #Lebanon's border.

The Israeli bulldozer was seen trying to crush the #Lebanese farmer as it continued its operations.

Activists compared the… pic.twitter.com/w2LYmiSiDc

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 7, 2023

Nasser's willingness to give up his life to halt the expansive Israeli plans in southern Lebanon comes in line with the history and the tradition of sacrifice that has characterized the Resistance in the South. 

The encroachment of the IOF past the blue line is not a rare occurrence. A Southerner could easily name countless trespasses committed by the IOF, including the seizure of cattle and the recurrent daily breaches by the Israeli Air Force of Lebanon's airspace.

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To elaborate, the blue line was a temporary line of withdrawal established by the United Nations to determine whether "Israel" had fully withdrawn from Lebanon or not. Neither Lebanon as a State nor the Israeli government recognizes the line in legal matters, however, it holds substantial value when assessing the presence of Israeli troops since it marks the level of withdrawal of the IOF in 2000.

A deterred expansive colonial project

In the town of Al-Ghajar, which "Israel" occupies, the IOF has built fortifications to enclose the town, an action which has been repeated all over the Palestine-Lebanon border. This comes as the expansive colonial project, that is "Israel", deals with a bitter reality that the early Zionists did not imagine: the supremacy of native Resistance over parasitic colonizers. 

The victories of the Lebanese Resistance have also been translated in Gaza and the West Bank where successive Israeli governments have chosen to withdraw and entrench themselves in territories occupied in 1948 and 1967 rather than impose direct occupation over natives. long trenches, military bases, concrete walls, and fences have been built all around the West Bank, Gaza, and Southern Lebanon to ensure the security of the so-called "democratic" Israeli society. 

This week's frenzy over the reconnaissance tents shows in key the fragility of Israeli society, especially in the settlements of northern Palestine, and also highlights the weaknesses of the Israeli military. As stated in previous articles, the Israeli military can no longer impose de facto ground control over the rebellious societies it seeks to tame. This was characterized by its failure to achieve security objectives in Jenin on June 3, as a 2-day long operation ended in withdrawal, costing the Israeli military at least one confirmed death. 

"Israel" threatened through international mediators and third parties that it would remove the two tents by force, intensifying its warnings this week. However, the tents, which were put up on the outskirts of the village, which "Israel" claims to be part of "its territory", remain in their place to this day. This has opened up a great opportunity to shift the balance of power towards the Resistance, as "Israel" fails to regain control over the area that it occupies. Although marginal to the remaining volume of occupied territories, Israeli failure to deal with the tents will mark a new era in its rules of engagement with the Resistance. 

Agricultural heaven

In the early stages of the colonization of Palestine, post World War I, a false picture was drawn in the minds of European Jews on the area that they would eventually occupy to form the first colonial Jewish political entity. Religious texts that date back thousands of years described Palestine as a part of a fertile crescent; a land which could easily be cultivated, reaping large profits for those who settle in it. In reality, Palestine's Al-Naqab desert stretches to around 60% of Palestinian land, as water sources are hard to come by.

Al-Jalil, northern Palestine, has become an essential area for "Israel" to showcase its high-tech agriculture and food companies. This valley hosts nutrient-rich soil and sufficient water resources has received increased interest from the Israeli political command, which has built on years of subsidies and tax cuts to its agricultural sectors, as the government seeks to greenwash its occupation of Arab land under the transformation of the desert into a garden, a recurrent false pretext in almost all colonial narratives.

The area's economic importance is coupled with military disadvantage, as the valley facilitates the advancement of liberating troops into the heart of the colonial project. It is also a rare entry route in the Israeli northern sector which is characterized by mountainous regions. 

The Shebaa Farms offer the gateway into the valley since they are located at a higher altitude than Al-Houla Plain which leads into Al-Jalil. Thus, they overlook the area allowing for a wider and clearer view of the settlements and Israeli positions below. This explains, from a military perspective, why the IOF stopped its withdrawal at this geographical location.

In February 2011, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, warned the Israeli command that if it embarks on another war on Lebanon, Hezbollah will liberate occupied territories in Al-Jalil. Since then the possibility of such a threat actualizing has increased as the Lebanese Resistance group amassed expertise, technology, and weapons over the years. Its experience in Syria and the transformation of rockets into high-precision missiles as well as work done in the field of recon and attack drones, do threaten the struggling Israeli military command and personnel.

Such a scenario has been contemplated by various Israeli experts, especially after the IOF inability to decisively deal with the reconnaissance tents.

The Israeli military has been extremely alert and obsessive, treading with extreme caution in fear of a blunder. This describes exactly how its political and military command deals with the tents; in fear.

Most importantly this feeling has been transferred to the settlers that occupy northern Palestine. They now feel that their military is unable to protect them. Taking into account that the security of settlers is essential to the success of a long-term colonial project, the current rules of engagement established by the continued presence of reconnaissance tents with no military action taken against them have collapsed any security guarantees that northern settlers have. In turn, this puts into question the viability of successful investment or a peaceful life in Al-Jalil.

"Israel's" deterrence on the northern front is subject to collapse as ordinary farmers stop its armored vehicles from advancing, villagers forcibly halt excavation work, and "lone wolves" infiltrate deep into the Meggido intersection and carry out operations there. The indecisiveness of its military command and its inability to risk confrontation with Hezbollah during times of internal turbulence will transform the rules of engagement on the northern front, as has been done since 2000 in Gaza and the West Bank city of Jenin.

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