The Hezbollah terror group built 20 new observation and guard posts over the past year on the Lebanese/Israeli border, with the construction pace rapidly increasing in the past month in parallel with the IDF’s work on a fortified perimeter fence, Ynet reported on Monday.

The new posts are a violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which banned Hezbollah from operating near the border following the 2006 Lebanon war.

According to the report, each tower is 18 meters (59 feet) tall and is built parallel to the as-yet-uncompleted fortified perimeter fence currently being built by the IDF. As the IDF increased the pace of construction of the fence, Hezbollah responded by erecting observation towers to peer over it.

The noise of the hammers and shouts of four Hezbollah operatives could be heard clearly in the Shtula moshav in the Upper Galil near the border on Sunday. Residents can see the operatives erecting observation posts just meters from the moshav.

“A few days ago we saw a large truck placing the balcony on top of the building, and workers connecting and using it as an observation post,” said Uri Eliyahu, a resident of Shtula.

“The outposts don’t worry me because I know that Hezbollah is deterred by Israel,” Eliyahu said. “They’re building the watchtowers as a pathetic response to the work Israel is carrying out along the border. They’re frustrated that the IDF is building a wall and they’re trying to provoke us. But they’re aware that if they dare to shoot or harm us, they’ll return to drinking from wells for three years because the IDF will wipe out all their infrastructure. They can harm us and shoot from this tower but they know that anything they do will have painful consequences for them.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)