The clay soil of the “Labouneh” area, which overlooks the Lebanese and Israeli sides of the border, allowed Hezbollah to establish an unknown tunnels network, extending from “Ra’s al-Naqoura” in the west to the vicinity of the village “Alma al-Shaab” in the east- which means that Hezbollah fighters have an underground, around the clock, presence in the area!
Thus, while Lebanese Army and UNIFIL forces, along with headquarters of the a-Armistice Monitoring Team, control the area “above the ground”, full control is vested in the Hezbollah that carries reconnaissance patrols consisting of two or three members in civilian clothes on board motorcycles!
This was evident during the three rounds of the Lebanese-Israeli talks to demarcate the maritime borders where the Hezbollah fighters continue to monitor every coming and going, including movements of the media correspondents who cover the talks from a distance three kilometers to the north.
The intensive presence of local, regional and international media professionals made the party’s fighters (in civilian clothes) « nervous », so began harassing press correspondents, starting with the correspondent of the government “Lebanon TV”.
Was the Lebanese Army aware of the Hezbollah network of tunnels at Naqoura?
Did the UNIFIL, really, ignore the presence of the tunnels in an area where Hezbollah is not authorized to have any presence? Or, did UNIFIL prefer to look the other way?
