Israel Is Spraying Cancer Causing Herbicide To Make Southern Lebanon Uninhabitable.

Israel Is Spraying A Cancer Causing Herbicide On Southern Lebanon.

The French outlet Le Monde reported that, “The Israeli military had previously informed the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of its intention to spray a ‘non-toxic chemical substance’ in areas near the border. International force contingents had to take shelter and suspend activities for more than nine hours across a broad stretch of their operational area.”

Now, Lebanon’s agriculture minister, Nizar Hani, has confirmed that, “Laboratory tests have identified the chemical sprayed by Israeli drones in southern Lebanon as glyphosate, a widely used herbicide that can destroy vegetation when applied intensively” adding that, “the substance was used at abnormally high concentrations along the border with Israel.”

He added that the chemical, sprayed on farmland in southern Lebanon by Israeli aircraft, was in “extremely high concentrations, exceeding normal levels by about 20%-30%” adding that, “glyphosate, like other herbicides, eliminates vegetation when used at such high levels, directly affecting soil and water and causing negative repercussions for human health.”

Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri, a member of the Lebanese parliament’s health committee further, “condemned spraying the substance in populated civilian areas and on land containing fruit-bearing crops essential for food, noting that glyphosate works by disrupting an enzyme plants need for growth, causing them to wither and die within a short period” adding that “Spraying it in these locations … could fall within attempts to remove vegetation for military and security purposes, as well as render land unsuitable for agricultural use in the near term, hindering residents’ return.”

In an interview, Nizar Hani said , “Last week, I visited Ramieh, Beit Lif, and Aita al-Shaab, and the effects of this spraying had begun to appear very clearly on trees and forests. This is not the only activity being carried out. The Israeli army has announced that it seeks to establish a buffer zone between Lebanon and occupied Palestine, and has therefore carried out bulldozing operations, caused damage and cut down trees”.

According to Lebanon’s environment minister, Tamara El-Zein, “the high levels of glyphosate have affected at least two border villages, Ras Naqoura and Aita al-Shaab, some 20 kilometers apart” saying, “According to residents, the green cover has already turned yellow under the impact of the glyphosate”.

He noted that this Israeli campaign, “aims to eliminate plant cover under the guise of security, and, given the glyphosate concentration, to prevent southern residents from cultivating their land for at least the next six months”.

Furthermore, as the Guardian reported , glyphosate was “in 2015 classified by the World Health Organization as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’”.

In a statement, Lebanon’s ministries of agriculture and environment said , “The spraying of chemicals from military aircraft over Lebanese territory constitutes a serious act of aggression that threatens food security, inflicts severe damage on natural resources, and undermines the livelihoods of farmers, in addition to posing potential health and environmental risks to water, soil, and the entire food chain”.

Israel has apparently been spraying farmlandin Syria with the same chemical near the Golan Heights.

The intention, as the Guardian noted, is to “make southern Lebanon uninhabitable, similar to its activities in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank” in order to expand Israeli presence and create a buffer zone in South Lebanon and Syria.

Nizar Hani noted that, “The goal is to eliminate all vegetation cover and turn the area into a completely exposed zone, a barren, desert-like strip”.

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