Alert on Lebanon-Israeli border in anticipation for Friday protests

May 20, 2011, 9:09 GMT

Beirut - A state of alert was registered Friday on the border between Lebanon and Israel, in anticipation of further protests by Palestinians and pro-Syrian groups, a Lebanese security source told the German Press Agency dpa.

'Israeli soldiers were seen in a state of high of alert after erecting new cameras to monitor closely the Lebanese border. This prompted the Lebanese army on the other side to also be in a state of alert,' the source said.

He added that the camera's were installed near Israeli's northern settlements near the border from where Israeli soldiers could also closely monitor movements in the Lebanese villages that are strongholds of the Hezbollah movement.

'What happened last week in Maroun al Ras scared the Israeli government who fear that similar protests will be carried Friday,' the source who requested anonymity told dpa.

Inspired by the wave of uprisings across the Arab world, Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon staged a protested against Israel in the border village of Maroun al Ras on May 15.

At least 10 people were killed and 121 injured when Israeli forces stationed on the border fired on the protesters.

The protesters had been marking the anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, in 1948 when the state of Israel was founded and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes.

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