Though the November 26 ceasefire was meant to end the Israeli invasion and occupation of Lebanese territory, Israeli troops never completely left. On Monday, they expanded that occupation once again, pushing deeper into the Marjayoun District.
Israeli troops and civilian administrators advanced along the river near the village of Wazzani. They also reportedly advanced further west and opened fire on people on the outskirts of Ayta ash-Shaab, and conducted “search operations” in the area.
Details are still emerging on what they’re doing and why, but the most significant part of this further invasion of Lebanese territory is that Israel has not publicly commented on the matter at all, not even offering the sorts of flimsy pretexts they generally give for violations of the ceasefire.
This is just another of well over 1,400 ceasefire violations which Lebanon has reported to the enforcement body, which is run by the United States and France. France has criticized Israel for violations at times, while the US has simply pressured Lebanon to make even further concessions and vowed to block international reconstruction aid until Israel is satisfied.
Besides the new advancement of ground troops, Israeli forces have continued to carry out airstrikes on a near daily basis. On Sunday they launched a drone strike against the outskirts of the town Yohmor.
The incident that’s most likely to fuel international condemnation, though, came in Yaroun, in the Nabatieh Governorate. Also on Sunday, which was the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday, Israeli military forces entered the area with military bulldozers and demolished a statue of Saint George, a Christian saint.
The statue incident has been widely criticized in the Christian world because of the timing, and amounted to not just another violation of the ceasefire, but a violation of religious rights of the Lebanese Christian community.
Saint George is considered the patron saint of England, along with Ukraine, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Ethiopia. He is also considered the patron saint of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut. A third century soldier in the Roman Army, he was executed for refusing to recant his Christian faith, and is thus considered a martyr. It is held that he is buried in Lod, a city near Tel Aviv in central Israel.
Particularly noteworthy is that the video of the bulldozer destroying the statue was taken by the Israeli operating the bulldozer at the time. The IDF has not made any statement regarding the demolition, and it indeed may be difficult to justify invading a Lebanese town and destroying a statue of a Christian saint having anything to do with Hezbollah, their go-to justification for violations.
