Israeli troops in southern Lebanon detained four men on Friday for questioning in what appeared to be the first arrests since a ceasefire ended the war with Hezbollah.
An Israeli patrol south of the village of Aita as-Shaab, the scene of heavy clashes during the 34-day conflict, detained the men on Friday afternoon, the Israeli military said. It said the men were armed, though it was not clear if they were members of the Hezbollah militia. ”We still have security responsibility for that area,” a spokesperson said. ”There was a patrol south of Aita as-Shaab that identified four armed men. They are being questioned in that location.” The military said the men had been detained during a regular patrol.
Although international forces are starting to deploy in southern Lebanon, there are at least five brigades of Israeli troops, numbering thousands of soldiers, still operating there. Television footage has shown the troops looking for and destroying bunkers and gun emplacements used by the Hezbollah militia.
There are also Lebanese troops now deployed in the south of their country for the first time in years and the beginnings of a 15 000-strong international force.
Earlier in the day Israel lifted its eight-week sea blockade of Lebanon and passed control to an international naval taskforce. On Thursday Israel had lifted its air blockade of the country, allowing commercial flights back into Beirut for the first time since the war erupted.
Major-General Alain Pellegrini, who heads the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said an Italian-led naval force was patrolling the coast. ”The blockade has seriously undermined the Lebanese economy and it is high time for it to end so as to allow the people to get back to their businesses,” he said on Friday. – Guardian Unlimited Â