Israeli Arabs hope for peace amid escalating conflicts
Arab Al-aramsha, Israel - Israeli Arab citizens residing along the Israel-lebanon border are hopeful for the cessation of recent clashes, which began around the Gaza Strip on October 7, and anticipate returning to their homes.
Anadolu documented the town of Arab al-aramsha, home to Israeli Arab citizens near the Israel-lebanon border, which was evacuated due to regional conflicts. The Arab al-aramsha town, with around 1,400 residents, is located just a few hundred metres from the mountainous border with Lebanon.
Israeli military surveillance, including balloon-mounted cameras, monitors the border, with sounds of drones, fighter jets, and artillery fire heard in the area, accompanied by smoke billowing from targeted areas.
Israel withdrew from the south of Lebanon unilaterally in 2000 in response to Hezbollah attacks, and a long concrete wall now separates the border along the Blue Line, ‘a line of withdrawal’ set by the UN in 2000 for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south of Lebanon.
On the outskirts of Arab alAramsha, the Lebanese village of Zuheira, which is abandoned due to conflicts, is situated just across the wall. Damage from attacks on the mosque in the Zuheira village is visible and the road near the border area is closed to civilian traffic as a precaution against possible attacks.
Sail Saad, president of the town council of Arab alAramsha, told Anadolu that they have close ties with the neighbouring village of Zuheira, but due to recent developments in the region, their communication has been severed for a considerable period.
Saad said that around 300400 people, including the elderly and livestock farmers, are still in the village and exuded hope for a quick end to the war through a humanitarian pause and a political, not military, solution.