By Xinhua
Beirut : Israeli forces Thursday crossed the Lebanese border in the south and advanced one km, but kept away from the UN demarcated “Blue Line” Future TV reported.
Earlier reports said that Israeli troops moved six km into Lebanon towards Wazani River, but did not cross the “Blue Line”.
Following the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, the UN drew a line called the “Blue Line” but it did not cover the disputed Shebaa farms, which was declared as being on Syrian soil.
Former Lebanese president Emile Lahoud rejected the “Blue Line ” saying the step violated Lebanon’s territories.
The disputed Shebaa farms, which lies in the mountainous border region between Lebanon, Syria and Israel, was captured by Israel when it seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
After Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, ending a 22-year occupation, UN cartographers determined that Shebaa was part of Syria.
The UN, therefore, declared that Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon and it drew a border demarcation, which is now known as the Blue Line.
Lebanon has claimed, with Syria’s consent, that the Shebaa farms are parts of its territory.