Alintiqad Exclusive: Blue Containers, New Reference to Locate the Blue Line

Local Translator

From Al Intiqad by Fatima Shouaib

The Zionist enemy has intensified, in light of the July 2006 war, its patrols along the technical fence of more than one village in the borderline between Lebanon and the Palestinian occupied territories.

Some of those patrols caused many protests among people of the upfront villages in Wazzani, Mays Al Jabal, Bleeda, and many other villages.

The Lebanese army became then on alert at a time when it was still spreading its troops in border villages.

That was until "Israel" violated the Lebanese sovereignty in Maroun Al Rass village in 7-2-2007, after which the Lebanese army shot an "Israeli" bulldozer when it was shoveling near the Blue Line. The "Israeli" excuse was that its bulldozer was drilling in the northern part of the line, but investigations later affirmed that the enemy was 50 meters inside the Lebanese territories.

This incident imposed the importance of demarcating the Blue Line, and putting marks through which the Lebanese army and citizens can distinguish between the technical fence and the Blue Line.


A project was then launched to demarcate the Blue Line under the auspices of the UN, and Lebanon also took part in forming a specialized team in the Lebanese army to follow up with the demarcating process.

The process started in Ras Al Naqoura, followed by Labouna, Alma Al Shaeb, Yarine, Al Dahira, Rmeish, Yaroun, Bleeda and other villages.

The demarcating process is supposed to continue reaching the Wazzani area, this takes place with Lebanese precautions in Rmeish, El Mtolleh, Al Ghajar, Al Abbadsiya, Kfarshouba hills, and Shibaa Farms, which are villages excluded from the demarcation process, due to the current agreement to prevent any act that would change the area's sites.

Lebanese Army Major General Antoine Mourad accompanied Alintiqad to several points demarcated by blue containers.

Maj. Gen. Mourad confirmed that the demarcating process is conducted with extreme accuracy, where the Lebanese army set a framework for the UNIFIL that revolves around adopting the digital blue line as a reference to choose the points to be demarcated.

Antoine Mourad then said there will be an agreement on the territories that should be demarcated. This would take place after the UNIFIL measures all the points in the unified coordinates, in separate coordination with both sides; the Lebanese and the "Israeli".

Maj. Gen. Mourad affirmed that in a time of 24 hours, maybe 72 hours, there will be 3 demarcated points for the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL, and the "Israeli" enemy.

Furthermore, the Lebanese Army General said that in case the differences between demarcated points were less than 50 centimeters, then there will be an   agreement to adopt a barycentre, or center of mass between the three points.

The following stage, according to General Mourad would be the stage of installing blue containers.

General Antoine Mourad said that after the blue containers are installed, and the difference between the center and coordinates was less than 1 meter, then there will be an approval, the process would be accomplished.

While if there were large differences between both points, then a re-demarcating process would be in order.

General Mourad added that due to this mechanism used, the maximum difference allowed is 1 meter.

Mourad affirmed that the accuracy of work lessens the difference to the most, adding so far nothing has gone wrong in the demarcating stages.

On another hand, Mourad stated to Alintiqad that thanks to the blue line demarcating process, big areas of isolated territories were revealed, and the Lebanese army is now encouraging the Lebanese citizens to invest them until the last inch.