BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) removed five trees on the border with Israel upon an Israeli request.

The trees were planted as part of an Iran-funded project to improve the landscape of the southern borders. The Israeli Army had requested that the five trees on the Fatima Gate be cut down, claiming that they touched the wire fence that separated the two borders.

UNIFIL was tasked with convincing the Lebanese troops to cut the trees, media reports said.

On August 3, Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire in the village of Adaysseh in the fiercest clashes since the 2006 summer war, after Israel attempted to cut a tree on the Lebanese side of the border.

Two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer were killed.

In other news, media reports over the weekend said an agreement between the US and France has been reached to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for another six months starting September 1. Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper cited sources as saying that both Washington and Paris have stressed the need for respecting the Blue Line.

The sources said the situation in Lebanon was discussed in a series of meetings in Paris between US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman and French officials.

Following separate talks on Monday with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, UNIFIL commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas reiterated that stability had returned to south Lebanon.

Relations between UNIFIL and the army have returned to normal following the hostilities, he said. The incident was tragic but should remain isolated, said Asarta, who last week ruled out a war breaking out in the next few months.