An Israeli citizen crossed into Lebanon overnight on Tuesday before returning across the border and being arrested by security forces, the latest incident in a string of worrisome events along the northern border.
According to the IDF, the man stayed in Lebanese territory for an hour before coming back to the border fence area, where he was detained by troops and transferred to the police for further questioning.
The border crossing of the resident of the Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe is the latest in a number of illegal crossings that have occurred along the porous Israeli-Lebanese border.
In late December, an Israeli Bedouin in his 20s from southern Israel was returned to the country a month after he crossed into Lebanon. He was handed over to Israeli security forces by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon after weeks of work by the IDF, Foreign Ministry, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and other relevant bodies.
It is unclear where he spent his time while in Lebanon or why he crossed the border, but the man was known to have mental health issues and had crossed the border of his own volition on foot.
Last February, an Israeli woman was returned home after crossing into Syria a week earlier. The woman, who had previously tried to cross into Gaza, was returned with the help of Russia in exchange for two Syrian shepherds who had crossed into Israel.
The border with Lebanon has been flagged by the IDF as vulnerable to enemy infiltrations. The area has seen dozens of instances of drug and weapon smuggling along the border, as well as several infiltrations by migrant workers in the past year.
According to IDF data, last year the military thwarted nine attempts to infiltrate from Lebanon and another two from Syria, as well as confiscated 120 kg. (265 lbs.) of drugs and 75 weapons.
Due to the ongoing infiltrations, Israel has been investing significant amounts of money and effort into strengthening its defenses along the Lebanon border, creating obstacles and building high concrete barriers to prevent any further infiltration and future attacks by Hezbollah.