BEIRUT: The Lebanese Resistance Movement called for a rally at Birket Naqqar in south Lebanon Sunday to “liberate” the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, the state-run National News Agency reported.
It said the sit-in, called for by the group’s head Jamil Daher, has been scheduled to kick off at 11:30 a.m. local time at Birket Naqqar, southeast of Shebaa.
“The call to liberate the Shebaa Farms and the [other] occupied Lebanese territories are part of the quest to liberate occupied Arab territories, especially Palestine,” Daher said in a statement.
He called on Lebanese and Palestinians, including forces from all factions, to head to what he called the “gate of return to Palestine, Shebaa Farms gate” during Sunday’s rally “because participation is the best expression of rejection of the [Israeli] occupation and [shows] readiness to face the enemy in all forms until liberation of the land.”
Separate demonstrations in the south of the country have been called by Palestinians as part of June 8 commemorations of the Naksa, or the defeat of 1967, which saw Israel occupy the West Bank, Gaza strip, East Jerusalem, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The Palestinian groups plan to hold a march at the Fatima Gate near Israel’s borders with Lebanon.
However, there are increasing signs that the Lebanese Army could close down the area near the border to prevent anyone from reaching the border fence. The march could be diverted toward the former Israeli detention center in the village of Khiam, four kilometers from the border to reduce the possibility of confrontation with Israeli forces.