Israeli troops uproot tree as Lebanon threatens to retaliate

Beirut: Lebanon stands ready to retaliate in the event of any new “aggression,” an army spokesman told AFP Wednesday following reports that Israeli troops are redeploying along the border after deadly clashes.

The comments came as Israeli troops on Wednesday uprooted a tree along the border with Lebanon where deadly clashes had erupted the previous day when the Jewish state tried to carry out the same operation, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

“The answer will be the same in the event of any aggression along the border,” the Lebanese spokesman, who requested anonymity, said. “Any aggression against Lebanon will have serious consequences.”

He added that the army was in contact with the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, after Israel's army radio said that troops planned to try again to uproot a tree in a disputed area on the border that sparked clashes on Tuesday that left four people dead. "We have been told that they are going to try and uproot the tree again today," he said.

Earlier, Israeli army radio reported that Israeli troops were redeploying on Wednesday to the site of the deadly gunbattle along the Lebanese border in order to complete their interrupted mission to uproot the tree.

It said an important security cordon and armoured vehicles were deployed around the site. The military did not immediately confirm the report.

Israel claims its troops were fired upon while conducting maintenance work along the border on Tuesday, while Lebanon said its troops opened fire after an Israel patrol crossed the border fence. Both sides blamed each other for the skirmish which killed two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer.