Israel's president visits Lebanese border at height of tension with Hezbollah

Israel's President Isaac Herzog visited the volatile border with Lebanon on Wednesday, where he warned the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, which controls the entire south of the Arab country, that the Israeli army is "strong and united" to "defend Israeli sovereignty".

"I want to warn our enemies, especially Hezbollah on the other side of the border, not to make a mistake. The Israel Defence Forces are strong and united, capable of protecting and defending our sovereignty, security and the welfare of the people of Israel," the president said on his tour of the border.

Herzog spoke of the army's unity and strength as concerns grow within Israel over the security situation after more than 10,000 reservists and soldiers refused to serve in protest at the judicial reform being pushed by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The president reached out to the "Lebanese people" as their country "is collapsing in tragedy", a situation he blamed on Hezbollah, "undermining their stability and well-being"; and the "Iranian spell", as the militia is one of the satellites in the region of the Ayatollahs' regime, Israel's main enemy.

Israel fought a war in 2006 against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, and since then the two countries have remained technically at war, separated by the so-called Blue Line, a boundary demarcated by the UN and still guarded by its troops.

Israel confirmed in June that Hezbollah gunmen set up two tents on the Blue Line on Israeli territory on a hill known as the Chebaa Farms in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, but after UN mediation, only one of the tents was removed, in an incident seen by Israel as provocative but not a serious threat to its security or a risk of escalation.

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah on Saturday threatened to attack Israel if its troops commit the "stupid act" of dismantling the tent, to which Netanyahu responded by telling him not to "test them".

But Israel makes no secret of its concern about Hezbollah's presence in the Blue Line demilitarised zone, where it has built more than 30 military posts in the past year, located less than 250 metres from the Israeli separation fence and in close proximity to Israeli communities, making the situation on the border far more volatile and dangerous than it was a year ago.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi also toured the northern border, along with the commanders of the military divisions in the area, with whom he assessed "recent events and measures to thwart sovereignty violations in the border area," the army said of Hezbollah's provocations.

Halevi toured part of the barrier being built along the border, which "has advanced tens of kilometres in recent months", and was briefed on other measures to protect the security of the population in the area.