Israeli And French Tanks Face Off In Lebanon

Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News | September 28, 2006 12:11 p.m. EST

Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Two Israeli tanks were prevented from entering the southern Lebanon village of Marwaheen Thursday when four French Leclerc tanks rushed to block their path.

The Israeli and French tanks faced off at a distance of about 50 yards for over 20 minutes, according to media reports. The French Leclercs eventually withdrew, but only after a further deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to the area.

The Israeli incursion force also included a bulldozer and several other vehicles.

Several hundreds Israeli troops remain deployed in southern Lebanon. Their withdrawal has been delayed amid the U.N. buffer force's refusal to militarily confront Hezbollah, even if the group is moving to attack northern Israel.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon was boosted to 15,000 armed peacekeepers as part of the resolution that ended the summer's war. Israel interpreted its new mandate to include forcibly preventing the kind of Hezbollah aggression that sparked the recent conflict.