Syria lauds Lebanese Army, people on in face of 'Israel'
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Syria praises the courage of the Lebanese people and army over their valiant confrontation against the Israeli occupation's violations of the country's sovereignty.
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Lebanese protesters throw stones at Israeli troops on the outskirts of the Lebanese village of Kfar Chouba, south Lebanon, June 9, 2023 (AP)
In a show of solidarity, Syria extended Saturday warm greetings to the Lebanese people and army for their courageous defense of Lebanon's land and sovereignty against the recent Israeli aggression in the Kfar Chouba area.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday emphasizing that such acts of aggression on the part of the Israeli occupation would only lead to repeated failures and defeats.
The Ministry lauded the Lebanese people and the Lebanese Army for their brave and valiant response to the Israeli aggression, specifically in the Kfar Chouba area of southern Lebanon.
"The brave Lebanese men stood up against the Israeli attempts to undermine Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty," the statement read.
Moreover, Damascus underlined the Israeli occupation forces' "malicious schemes" and continued acts of aggression ultimately backfired, leading to the isolation of the Zionist entity itself after it aimed to alter the geographic landscape of the region.
At the conclusion of the statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry voiced its support for the Lebanese people and army, commending their steadfast defense of Lebanon's sovereignty.
Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that Lebanese youths from the village of Kfar Chouba in southern Lebanon removed barbed wires placed by Israeli occupation forces and filled in a tunnel they had dug in the area.
Israeli occupation violations continued in Kfar Chouba on Friday as hundreds of soldiers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) flocked to the location of a sit-in staged by residents standing up against Israeli violations in the area.
On Thursday, Israeli occupation forces carried out bulldozing operations outside what is known as the "withdrawal line" in Kfar Chouba.
The official spokesperson of the UNIFIL Andrea Tenenti announced that they were following closely the recent events in the border village (in the triangle border intersection between Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine), and called for employing coordination mechanisms to diffuse the tense situation to prevent any violations.
The Lebanese Army announced Friday that it is deploying units on the southern Lebanon border after Israeli occupation forces attacked civilians from Kafr Chouba and Al-Arqoub villages with tear gas amid the heavy presence of the UNIFIL.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in the area reported on Thursday that the Israeli occupation forces bulldozed past what is referred to as the "withdrawal line" in the occupied Kfar Chouba village in South Lebanon.
Civilians went on to protest the bulldozing of their lands by the occupation forces that trespassed into Lebanese territory, earlier this week, and dug a trench and set up barbed wires in clear violation of sovereignty.
Israeli media warned of the rare "event [that] occurred on the border: a Lebanese army soldier aiming an RPG at an Israeli tank."
In the wake of the violations, the Lebanese Army set up points in Kfar Chouba, southern Lebanon, near the borders in an affirmation of Lebanon's sovereignty and its territorial integrity over the land, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.
The correspondent reported that there was relative calm on the borders, adding that one Israeli military vehicle stood near the withdrawal line after the Israeli occupation forces stopped bulldozing the area, though there was no escalation of any sort.
The people of Kfar Chouba and Al-Arqoub took to praying near the withdrawal line, challenging the Israeli occupation soldiers who had been mobilized there on high alert. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces remained in the area near their sites, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.
"The Lebanese people back the resistance as a pathway to liberation, not the United Nations," military affairs analyst Mohammad Abbas said. "The resistance is staying so long as there are Israeli aspirations [in Lebanon]."
