Excursions on the Middle East, politics, the Levant, Islam in politics, civil society, and courage in the face of unbridled, otherwise unchecked power.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
If Israel is, in fact, seizing the Lebanese portion of Ghajar you can bet that troubles lie ahead
Among other interesting things about Ghajar is that it sits above the Wazzani tributary of the Hasbani river. The Hasbani flows into northern Israel, and the Israelis have always been very productive of stream bed. In 1980s, while working for the UN in southern Lebanon I wrote my first report on Israeli engineering work being done--on Lebanese soil--on the streambed below Ghajar. As I noted here some time ago, while the Wazzani does flow into Israel, the Israelis were intent at that time to prepare any riparian in Lebanon to draw on the water. This was the subject of UNIFIL report more than a quarter century ago. In some old file box I have a copy of the report.The Daily Star - Politics - Israelis settle in for long stay in village of Ghajar: "The once divided Southern town of Ghajar, half occupied by Israel and half within Lebanese territory, appears to have been finally reunited under one flag. 'Khalas, it is gone. It is a new Israeli town and they are even repainting it in Israel's favorite colors, pink and yellow,' said 16-year-old shepherd Walid Ain Zat, who along with his two younger brothers regularly tends his flock of goats in the open fields near the border town."
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In 1967, those Ghajar (the word means nomads) had initially asked to be annexed to Lebanon. Then they went under Israeli citizenship, who expanded the town and built it.
The most interesting part is that Ghajar was expanded AFTER Israel occupied the region, and in the direction of north, towards the wazzani.
The latest trouble is some sense Lebanon's fault. We did not address the issue of land grab after 2000, letting Ghajar's portion on Lebanese soil stand. We did not dismantle the pump, which remained active until it broke down.
The Israelis must have repaired it. And now, they stay...
Another Nail of Jeha's.
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