The Army Command - Directorate of Guidance organized a field tour along the Blue Line for representatives of UN Security Council member states accredited in Lebanon, attended by a significant presence of Lebanese, Arab, and foreign media and press, chaired by the government coordinator with UNIFIL, Brigadier General Munir Shihadeh. Also present were the commander of the Southern Litani sector, Brigadier General Rudolf Hekel, the commander of the 5th Brigade, Brigadier General Edgar Lundos, and officers from the army.
The tour included a presentation about the Blue Line and details on points of contention related to it. The tour commenced from the Benwa Barakat barracks in Tyre, with buses secured by the Lebanese army for approximately 70 journalists. The first stop was at point B1 in Ras Naqoura. Upon the arrival of the international delegation and journalists, two Israeli military boats breached the Lebanese territorial waters in full view of the international delegation, marking a blatant violation by the Israeli vessels at Ras Naqoura. Following that, the delegation and journalists listened to some points of contention, then moved to a Lebanese army center at Ras Naqoura adjacent to an Israeli military tower equipped with monitoring cameras, jamming devices, and fortified soldiers.
Some officers from the 5th Brigade explained to the international diplomats the extent of Israeli violations and other contentious points. Brigadier General Munir Shihadeh delivered a speech emphasizing that "Lebanon has reservations about these violations, including 13 points at the southern border, and these points have been recorded since the Blue Line was adopted. Therefore, it is a line of withdrawal and not a border demarcation; the border demarcation took place in 1923 by the Paul New Camp Committee and was then enshrined in the armistice agreement in 1949." He stressed that "Lebanon is not concerned with discussions about land demarcation, as this term does not exist in our vocabulary as the Lebanese army and government. We are talking about stabilizing and affirming Lebanese borders, not border demarcation."
He noted that "when the Blue Line was established by the United Nations in 2000, it drawn by Hoef does not conform to the international borders in several locations, and we referred to it as a line of withdrawal, not a border line, and thus we seek for the Blue Line to become consistent with the international borders." He indicated that "Lebanon and the army from today onwards will not use the term 'North of the Hajar' but 'South of the Mari,' as it is a southern Lebanese border town. Consequently, Israel has occupied part of South Mari, and we oppose this." He added, "We have sent a message to the United Nations via the Lebanese Foreign Ministry not to use the term demarcation for our southern border between Lebanon and occupied Palestine."
He concluded by emphasizing that "we will maintain Lebanon's right to every inch of its land, and that is what we are doing." The delegation then traveled via an army helicopter to the area of Adaisseh, Kfar Kila, and Mari in Marjeyoun.
