After weeks of failed attempts, and under the pretext of praying at the tomb of Rabbi Rav Achi, a 4th-century scholar from the Babylonian exile period, several hundred Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews, escorted by the Israeli military, crossed the Blue Line (the technical border demarcated by the UN) yesterday at a location known as Tel Abbad, near the Hounine citadel, in order to reach the tomb.
For the Shiite community, however, the site is believed to be the burial place of Sheikh Abbad, a 16th-century Shiite Muslim cleric regarded as one of the founding figures of the Shiite community in Jabal Amel. The hill where the tomb lies is named after him.
Interestingly, the sanctuary is located on both sides of the Blue Line, within a militarized zone surrounded by an Israeli army post and a UNIFIL base. This area is one of the 13 disputed points along the Blue Line established by Terry Roed-Larsen, for which Lebanon has requested corrections.
When Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon in May 2000, one of the key obstacles to the deployment of UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) along the border was resolving the status of this disputed site. It remained one of the last unresolved issues between Israel and Lebanon. One proposed solution was to build a barricade around the tomb to prevent both Jews and Muslims from visiting the site. Ultimately, when the Blue Line was established by the UN, the border fence was placed directly through the disputed tomb. The site remained accessible from both sides of the border, with Israelis continuing to visit and pray there until 2006.
Israeli media reports suggest that Tel Aviv has since made agreements with the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) to allow them to pray at the site again, after it had been completely sealed off during the hostilities with Hezbollah. In February of this year, at least 20 ultra-Orthodox Jews illegally crossed the border from Israel into Lebanon before being stopped by the Israeli military, which halted their advance.
The Haredim ("God-fearing"), a deeply religious Jewish group, are generally opposed to military service. According to Israeli reports, out of the ten thousand conscription orders sent to the Haredim between July 2024 and March 2025, only 177 of them responded to the call.
In peaceful times, such a visit might be viewed as an act of religious devotion. However, given the ongoing political and military tensions surrounding the site, this incursion can only be regarded as an unwelcome violation. As the Lebanese military stated in a communiqué on Friday, it was "a flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty," and the matter will be brought to the attention of the international ceasefire monitoring commission.
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