Lebanon's Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, said that plans to pave a road linking the village of Kfar Chouba to its surrounding higher grounds began when a Lebanese farmer and local resident, Ismail Nasser, confronted an Israeli bulldozer that encroached his hometown in June.

The paving of the local Berket Bathael Al-Samaqa road marks the first official governmental action in the liberated hills of Kfar Chouba, the minister said in an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen.

The road has been named Al-Bidaya road which means "the beginning" in Arabic, since it is the first infrastructural project built in the area which Hamieh says has been put out of the Lebanese government's reach due to aggressive Israeli actions.

هذا أول مدماك رسمي في تلك الأرض التي تعمد الاحتلال تغييب عمل الدولة اللبنانية عنها لذلك سميناه "طريق البداية"

وزير الأشغال العامة والنقل في حكومة تصريف الأعمال اللبنانية علي حميه في #المشهدية @alihamie_lb @mayadeenlebanon pic.twitter.com/cRbKVoRDTq

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 26, 2023

The minister explained that the road will be 4 kilometers long and aims to assert Lebanon's sovereignty over its land amid continued Israeli threats on Lebanon's southern region. Hamieh emphasized that Lebanon will not relinquish any inch of its territory.

"لن نتخلى عن أي شبر من الأراضي اللبنانية"

وزير الأشغال العامة والنقل في حكومة تصريف الأعمال اللبنانية علي حميه في #المشهدية@alihamie_lb@mayadeenlebanon pic.twitter.com/lRIArpeQzL

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 26, 2023

He also stressed that Lebanon will not wait for a green light to develop its infrastructure from any side.

The official emphasized that "it is the duty of the government to complete the achievement of the resistance [which liberated the territories from Israeli occupation on May 25, 2000]," as he pointed to the current balance of power on Lebanon's southern border where "Israel" is "retreating today at the borders, thanks to the blood of the martyrs."

The minister pointed to the duty of the Lebanese state to be present among its constituents near the southern borders with occupied Palestine in order to enhance these areas' prospects, as he confirmed an official intent to invest in agriculture and tourism in the town of Kfar Chouba.

On another note, Hamieh said that Lebanon is set to initiate exploration efforts in Bloc 8 of its exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea. 

As the developmental project was about to take place in Kfar Chouba on Saturday morning, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Israeli occupation forces were on high alert on the border with Lebanon and took offensive positions towards Lebanese territories after launching a drone over the area.

This event comes after several incidents in which the occupation's army and vehicles attempted to complete illegal excavation works around the Lebanese village. Those attempts were thwarted by locals who resisted the occupation forces encroachment on their land, ending their excavation work.

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