Protests in Lebanon in support of Palestine continues

Protests in solidarity with Palestine continue in Lebanon with marches planned on Monday as Israeli air raids killed nearly 200 people in Gaza.

Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians travelled to the border with Israel on Sunday for the third consecutive day, proudly waving Palestinian flags and banners of the Hezbollah and Amal movements.

More than 400,000 Palestinian refugees are registered in Lebanon, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, though only about half are estimated to still live in the country, which is currently facing extreme economic hardship.

Hezbollah has called for a march through its stronghold of Dahieh in south Beirut on Monday night, with the turnout expected to be high considering the area hosts 20,000 Palestinian refugees.

Dozens of Lebanese soldiers, along with peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), were deployed to keep the people at a safe distance from the wall.

Along the border wall leading to the village of Adaisseh, families took selfies with their children overlooking historical Palestine, while men sat in social clusters.

Below, at the foot of the concrete wall topped with metal fencing, about 30 young men attempted to knock down the metal fence and a door in the wall.

Some took turns to pull themselves up a rope they tied to the wall to attach Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, as Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets into the air.

About 100 people were spread out at the top of the hill, cheering on the men and cursing the Israelis.

One of the locals told Al Jazeera the men were showing bravery in climbing the wall, given that Lebanese citizen Mohamed Tahan had been shot and killed by Israeli forces on Friday.

The Lebanese government condemned the attack. His body, carried by fellow Hezbollah members, was laid to rest in Adloun on Saturday.

Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war and captured a strip of land in 1985. The Israeli army withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 and UNIFIL was tasked with monitoring the withdrawal.

In 2006, Lebanon faced its own war with Israel sparked by a cross-border raid by Hezbollah, which had taken over the south of Lebanon. More than 1,000 Lebanese civilians were killed.

The Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi warned of exposing Lebanon to new wars in his Sunday sermon.

“These uncontrolled conflicts have cost all the Lebanese people enough [and] the Lebanese people are not ready to destroy their country again, more than it has already been destroyed,” al-Rahi said.

“There are peaceful ways to show solidarity with the Palestinian people without getting involved on a military level.”

Al jazeera