WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel warned Lebanon not to allow Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tour the border between the two countries.
Ahmadinejad will visit Lebanon this week and plans a tour of the border area. The Iranian leader has denied the Holocaust and called for the removal of the Jewish state; his government is suspected of preparing for the manufacture of a nuclear weapon.
Israeli authorities have made representations through United States, United Nations and French intermediaries warning Lebanon to keep Ahmadinejad away from the border area, Haaretz reported Saturday.
Tensions escalated on the border in August when a Lebanese officer fired across the border at Israeli troops inside Israel. In the ensuing gun battle, one Israeli officer, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed.
Ahmadinejad spent Saturday in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The leaders pledged continued support for "resistance" to Israel. Iran and Syria both supply logistical support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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