In 2005, a concrete example can be seen at the Israeli-Lebanese border. From the hill of a small village in southern Lebanon, one can see the separation wall between the two countries, the blue line, and, beyond that, the Israeli territory; vast green expanses as far as the eye can see, with small white clusters of houses reflecting the sunlight in the background. The contrast is striking: just a few hundred meters away on the Lebanese side, the land is brown, almost black; little vegetation for the shepherds and their livestock.
Residents tell stories of olive grove fires, clouds of white substance released by the Israeli army during the occupation of southern Lebanon; a lasting contamination, according to researchers from the American University of Beirut (AUB): mercury, lead, barium, antimony… Due to the thousands of bombings.
The once fertile land is now filled with poisons for vegetation and subsistence farming. Reports document recurring attacks on the environment, from 1993 to 2006, which have rendered dozens of square kilometers unfit for cultivation, with serious impacts on the health of the residents.
