Despite official Israeli denials and the refusal of some Lebanese to acknowledge the reality, the colonisation of south Lebanon is neither a myth nor a fantasy. It is a concrete and structured project.
On 14 May, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir revealed that Israel had a "settlement plan for Lebanon". The far-right minister made the statement on the very day Lebanon and Israel were due to resume direct negotiations in Washington under US auspices aimed at normalising relations and reaching a comprehensive agreement.
Several weeks earlier, on 26 March, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that "the Litani must be our new border with the state of Lebanon, just like the 'Yellow Line' in Gaza and like the buffer zone and peak of the Hermon in Syria".
These statements are not merely rhetorical provocations. They accompany and support actions already taking place on the ground by Israeli civilians inside Lebanese territory.
On 12 February, weeks before the latest war broke out, dozens of settlers, including women and children, attempted to plant trees inside Lebanese territory in what appeared to be a staged demonstration promoting Israeli settlement expansion. Participants called for the alleged "resumption" of settlement activity in Lebanon, presenting it as a "historical correction".
The settlers were eventually evacuated by the Israeli army, which described the incident as "serious" and as a criminal violation that endangered both civilians and soldiers.
The incident took place near the border village of Yaroun, in the central sector of south Lebanon. It is in this same village - coveted by Israeli settlers - that the Israeli military later demolished a monastery and a school run by the Sisters of the Holy Saviour.
Days afterwards, occupying forces also destroyed a Husseiniya - a congregation hall used by Shia Muslims for religious gatherings, mourning ceremonies and community events - as well as a mosque.
The Yaroun incident is not an isolated case, despite attempts by Israeli authorities to portray it as such. It fits into a broader and carefully orchestrated campaign designed to acclimatise Israeli public opinion to the idea of colonising south Lebanon, a territory regarded by some extremists as an integral part of "Greater Israel".
On 5 December 2024, only days after the end of the "66-Day War", a group of Israelis entered the border village of Maroun el-Ras and erected tents before being evacuated by soldiers.
The colonisation of south Lebanon is not a fabrication or a paranoid fantasy. It is a tangible project deeply rooted in the history of Zionist ideology
At the height of the fighting, on 20 November, another major incident exposed Israeli ambitions more clearly.
Controversial Israeli archaeologist Zeev Erlich, aged 71, was killed during clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters in the village of Chamaa, located 25km from the border.
Originally from the settlement of Ofra in the occupied West Bank - of which he was one of the founders - Erlich was wearing a military uniform and carrying a weapon when he died. He authored several books on Jewish history in Israel and the broader region.
The Israeli army stated that Erlich had been invited to "assess a fortress" intended to be transformed into an observation post.
Lebanese sources told Middle East Eye that the archaeologist's true mission was to inspect the shrine of Saint Peter in Chamaa - also known as Maqam Chamoun as-Safa - a rare pilgrimage site revered by both Shia Muslims and Christians alike.
The religious site, along with the citadel, later suffered extensive destruction in subsequent Israeli air strikes.
The colonisation of south Lebanon is not a fabrication or a paranoid fantasy. It is a tangible project deeply rooted in the history of Zionist ideology.
Lebanese statesman Raymond Edde (1913-2000), whose father Emile Edde was one of the founders of Greater Lebanon, spent much of his political career warning against Israeli territorial ambitions in Lebanon.
In a statement issued on 22 April 1998, Raymond Edde recalled historical episodes relayed to him by his father:
