Surveillance towers on the southern border? Lebanon weighs UK plan amid Israeli concerns

Report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

A Lebanese soldier stands watch on a tower overlooking the eastern border with Syria. Now, the question is: could similar towers soon line the southern frontier with Israel?

According to information obtained, the United Kingdom has revived a proposal to establish watchtowers along the southern border during talks held last week between British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and President Joseph Aoun.

The proposal is not new—it dates back to before the most recent Israeli war on Lebanon. According to sources, the towers already exist in Lebanon but have not yet been installed.

Israel previously rejected the project, insisting that land border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel must come first. It also demanded Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the south of the Litani River. It also expressed reservations about the project, arguing it would grant the Lebanese army the authority to monitor activity inside Israeli territory.

According to the information, the current proposal involves constructing fixed surveillance towers along the southern border, funded and implemented by the United Kingdom and later handed over to the Lebanese army. The aim is to secure the border, enhance stability, and help implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

Sources confirmed to LBCI that Lebanon is open to the British offer, which requires approval from the Lebanese army and a Cabinet decision, as well as the demarcation of the land border with Israel and the solidification of the ceasefire agreement between the two sides.

The towers cannot be installed before an Israeli withdrawal, a ceasefire, and then border demarcation.

As for Hezbollah, the group has left the decision on whether to install the towers to the Lebanese state and army, especially in light of its commitment to the ceasefire and its withdrawal from the south of the Litani River.

Still, many questions remain on the Lebanese side about the towers, including: Who will have access to the data they collect? Could that information reach Israel through a third country? Will the surveillance be directed solely at the Israeli border, at Lebanese territory, or in both directions?