Israeli restrictions have blocked access to more than half of Deir Mimas’ olive groves, a key income source. On Friday, troops opened fire near harvesters and abducted one picker, The National reported.
Mayor Tania Barnaba told The National that harvesters had entered an area Israeli forces barred. She said troops later established a checkpoint outside Deir Mimas, leaving residents unable to reach additional groves.
The National reported that the Israeli army had already warned villagers against entering the restricted zone, which contains more than half of the groves. Olive cultivation and olive oil production support much of the village’s economy and provide income for many residents, the outlet reported. Residents continued trying to harvest despite the restrictions, it said.
“In the end, it’s their livelihood. Deir Mimas lives off its olives,” Barnaba told The National.
Barnaba said residents learned the village lay within the military’s so-called “yellow line,” which separates southern Lebanese areas occupied by Israel from territory under Lebanese state control. She said the boundary had not been marked for residents.
The National reported that military analysts called the process a “mobile yellow line.” The outlet described an Israeli security zone extending 10 to 12 kilometers into Lebanon and said only a few villages remained inhabited within or near it. Restrictions on farmland have disrupted a major source of income in those communities, it reported.
Barnaba said residents were told about the village’s status after a mid-September confrontation between Israeli forces and the Lebanese army. The National reported that Israeli troops threw stun grenades near a newly established Lebanese army observation post outside Deir Mimas on Sept. 18. Lebanese forces eventually regrouped at their main post in town, according to the outlet.
The post’s purpose was to provide an army escort while villagers assessed farmland, The National reported. Barnaba said Lebanese troops are no longer stationed in the village.
