Lebanon suggests US list of amendments in maritime border deal with Israel
Lebanon presented the United States with a list of modifications that it would like to see in a plan to settle a maritime border conflict with Israel
On Tuesday, Lebanon presented the United States with a list of modifications that it would like to see in a plan to settle a maritime border conflict with Israel. Elias Bou Saab, the Deputy Speaker of Lebanon, confirmed the modification request but added that no final agreement had been reached.
He emphasised that Lebanon would not give Tel Aviv any of its portion of the Karish Gas Field, saying that this concept served as the foundation for the accord and that Israel had no rights to the field, Anadolu Agency reported.
Since the year 2020, US representative Amos Hochstein has been back and forth between Israel and Lebanon to finalise a deal that would open the door to offshore energy development and eliminate a possible point of contention between Israel and the Hezbollah-backed Lebanese militant organization, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. Last week, Hochstein delivered a draft plan to Beirut.
Further, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri discussed it on Monday.
In addition to this, Elias Bou Saab said that he has sent the US ambassador to Lebanon the revisions Beirut wanted to see on Monday. Although the response did not imply approval of the draft, he asserted that discussions were at a point where “we are done negotiating” and that he did not believe the suggested revisions would cause the deal to fall through.
Lebanon-Israel maritime border dispute
The premier of Lebanon underlined that upholding Lebanon’s rights is “fundamental” and cannot be compromised, Anadolu Agency reported.
According to maps given by both nations to the United Nations in 2011, Lebanon and Israel have been at odds over an 860 square kilometer (332 square miles) maritime region. Natural gas and oil are abundant in the region. With US mediation and UN sponsorship, there have been five sessions of indirect discussions on the matter since 2020, with the most recent round taking place in May 2021.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid welcomed the American proposal on Sunday for settling a long-running disagreement between the nations. He further claimed that the proposal would improve Israel’s economy and increase regional security. According to the Associated Press report, Lapid told his Cabinet, “This deal strengthens Israel’s security and Israel’s economy”.
Lapid asserted the plan, which he said was still under review, would reinforce Israel’s northern regions close to the Lebanese border, enable Israel to extract more natural gas, and bring in fresh funds for the government coffers.
(Image: AP)
