Kfar Falous crossing in South Lebanon reopened
The Kfar Falous crossing linking Israeli-occupied south Lebanon with the rest of the country was reopened Friday, after a 12-year closure.
The crossing, 12 kilometers east of Sidon, links the town of Jezzine inside Israel's "security zone" with Sidon and the rest of the coastal towns under Lebanese Army control.
Amid tight security measures and Lebanese army deployment, the crossing was reopened to two-way traffic after days of work by army units on paving and clearing the road from mines. Barbed wire and road signs were also put up warning residents of land mines.
The reopening Friday turned into mass celebrations at the crossing where hundreds of people from both sides met, carrying Lebanese flags and throwing rice at Lebanese army officers.
The Kfar Falous crossing was closed in 1985 shortly after Israeli troops withdrew from Sidon. Since then, the area has been under the control of militiamen from the South Lebanon Army, Israel's proxy militia in south Lebanon.
Jezzine residents who wanted to travel to Sidon have had to wait for hours at the Bater mountain crossing, the only passage way accessible since 1985.
The Kfar Falous crossing would allow Jezzine residents to reach the coast in just 20 minutes. Some 100 cars crossed over from Jezzine shortly after the crossing was reopened Friday.
Lebanese officials first announced they would reopen the Kfar Falous crossing in June. The government's plans, however, were put off after repeated Israeli and SLA shelling of the area.
The government went ahead this time, despite a roadside bomb explosion Thursday which killed an SLA militiaman and wounded another.
The bombing, claimed by Hizbullah guerrilla group, occurred two kilometers east of the Kfar Falous crossing.
"This is a humanitarian gesture," said Richard Jones, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon. "I wouldn't want people reading more into that," Jones, who was on an official trip to eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, added.
He was referring to speculation by some people that the reopening of the crossing may be a prelude to an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.