Israel's Scud missiles charges aimed at harming Lebanon's tourism — minister

Wazzani:  Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami said yesterday that Israeli charges Hezbollah has acquired Scud missiles are designed to harm his country's tourism sector and scare away investors.

"The recent Israeli threats not only increase military tension in the region but also harm investment in Lebanon and our upcoming tourism season," Shami told a meeting of ambassadors in Beirut.

Israeli claims that Hezbollah has obtained Scud missiles have revved up fears another war may break out soon. So it might not be the best time to try to turn the two nemeses' battlefield, south Lebanon, into a tourist destination.

But the south's rolling green hills, dotted with scenic olive and orange groves and watered with rivers, are seeing the construction of several new tourist sites near one of the most tense borders in the Middle East.

"This is my land, I was raised here, I have beautiful childhood memories here and Israel doesn't scare me," said Khalil Abdullah, the 56-year-old businessman behind the most ambitious project, the Wazzani Fortress resort.

Along the Wazzani River, which forms the border in this corner of southeast Lebanon, workers toil around the clock to finish the sprawling complex, built in the shape of a fort, along with windmills and stone arches. Among the $3 million project's plans are a restaurant where visitors can lunch while dipping their feet in the river, luxury chalets, a hotel and three swimming pools.

The area sits in the foothills of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and Israeli soldiers often walk up to the other side of the river to gawk at the workers.

Abdullah, smoking a cigar and sipping a coffee under a straw umbrella in view of an Israeli military outpost, said he's not worried about the possibility of a new war.

"They call me crazy, but I am simply fulfilling a dream of mine," said Abdullah, who recently returned to settle in Lebanon after 40 years working as a contractor in Africa.

South Lebanon, the country's Shiite heartland, was long torn by fighting during Israel's 18-year occupation, which ended in 2000. Then it was devastated in the 2006 summer war between Israel and the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Thousands of UN peacekeepers and Lebanese army troops now patrol the area along with mine-clearing teams and Hezbollah operatives.

In the border village of Maroun Al Rass, where some of the fiercest fighting between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops took place in 2006, up to 3,000 people now crowd a newly opened border park on weekends.

The $1.5 million Maroun Al Rass Park was a gift from Iran, which is believed to funnel weapons and millions of dollars in funding to Hezbollah, though Tehran denies arming the Shiite group.

The park has barbecues, swings for children and a small mosque with an Iranian flag on its dome. The park will be officially opened on May 25, the Liberation Day holiday marking Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.