BEIRUT: The Lebanese army has arrested six people after gunmen attacked UN peacekeepers patrolling in the south of the country, the military said Saturday.
The UN force, known as UNIFIL, had reported that six men riding on three mopeds opened fire on a patrol vehicle Thursday without hurting anyone.
Saturday’s statement said the army’s intelligence directorate had followed up on the attack and arrested six Lebanese suspects.
The army said it would not tolerate attacks on UNIFIL, which it said carries out an important stabilising role south of the Litani river, near the Israeli border.
UNIFIL peacekeepers have been tasked with acting as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since March 1978, and with monitoring the November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The truce was supposed to see Israeli forces withdraw from Lebanon and refrain from attacks while the Iran-backed group is disarmed.
But Hezbollah is resisting those efforts, and in recent weeks Israel has stepped up its ongoing strikes, accusing the group of trying to build its forces.
UNIFIL has also recently complained of Israeli forces firing at or near its peacekeepers.
On Wednesday, direct discussions were held for the first time in decades between Israeli and Lebanese civilian officials under the auspices of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
Lebanon arrests six after attack on UN patrol
https://arab.news/vcczx
Lebanon arrests six after attack on UN patrol
- The army’s intelligence directorate had followed up on the attack and arrested six Lebanese suspects.
- The army said it would not tolerate attacks on UNIFIL
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, Palestinians report curbs
- The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.
Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa — Islam’s third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.
Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the surrounding area.
He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.
Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.
He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a separate statement it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year’s criteria.
It said Israeli authorities had blocked the Islamic Waqf — the Jordanian?run body administering the site — from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.
A Waqf source confirmed the restrictions and said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week before Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint.
Under long?standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound — which they revere as the site of their second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD — but they are not permitted to pray there.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
Braverman reiterated Monday that no changes were planned.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far?right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.
