Israeli Activists Enter Lebanon Twice This Week to Visit Hasbani River Source

For the second time within a week, activists from the Israeli movement "Awake North" entered Lebanese territory, reaching the Hasbani River, a key source of the Jordan River. On Tuesday, a group of teenage girls from the movement spent about an hour at the river, hiking and wading in its waters. During their visit, an Israeli military jeep arrived, and soldiers instructed the girls to leave the area. The girls complied and were subsequently detained by police after exiting the site.

According to "Awake North," this was their second incursion into Lebanon in a week. They claim that a previous group of activists also entered the Hasbani River area last week in an event that went unreported. The Hasbani River, known in Hebrew as Nahal Snir, flows within Lebanon and is one of the three main sources of the Jordan River. Parts of the river lie just meters from the Israeli border near the Galilee Panhandle.

The movement stated that the Hasbani River is located near the village of Aajjar, which was divided for years by an old border line that was recently annulled. They argue that the river and surrounding fertile land should be accessible to Israelis. "Awake North" called on the Israeli government to invest in developing and opening the river area to Israelis, annex and settle the strategic fertile region around the Hasbani River and southern Lebanon. Their slogan concluded with "Until victory! Until settlement!"