BEIRUT, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two Lebanese citizens crossed the border from Israel into Lebanon on Tuesday, nine years after escaping to Israel following its withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

    The International Red Cross handed over to the Lebanese army Nadim Abu Rafeh and Khalil Hanna Abu Hamad after they crossed the border from Israel in the Ras Naqoura area in south Lebanon, the NNA said.

    Rafeh, 50, and Abu Hamad, 90, were previous South Lebanon Army (SLA) collaborators who escaped to Israel after its withdrawal from the area in 2000.

    SLA was a militia operating in southern Lebanon under Israeli occupation. It was supported by Israel to fight against the Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah, the Shiite armed group.

    When Israel withdrew for south Lebanon, many Lebanese citizens collaborating with the SLA escaped to Israel, while the rest were prosecuted in military courts in Lebanon.

    Of those who initially fled to Israel, many SLA members and their families eventually chose to return to Lebanon. Others accepted Israel's offer of full citizenship and a financial package and settled permanently in Israel.