Lebanon will give in the next 24 hours its response to an American proposal for the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel, including certain "
remarks
", announced Monday, October 3 an official in charge of the negotiations.
The two neighboring countries, officially in a state of war, have been negotiating for more than two years through the United States, the delimitation of their maritime border in order to remove obstacles to gas exploration and exploitation.
The US Embassy in Lebanon said it had delivered to Lebanese leaders last week an American proposal on a final agreement delimiting the maritime border.
Remarks and planned amendments
Lebanon will give "
a response to the latest proposal
" by American mediator Amos Hochstein "
in the next 24 hours
", including certain "
remarks
" and "
amendments
", said deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab.
“
We hope for a definitive answer before the end of the week
,” he added after a meeting with Head of State Michel Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati. .
For his part, the Prime Minister announced to the press that the agreement was "
on the right track
", assuring that the position of those responsible was "
unified in the interest of Lebanon
".
The details of the American proposal have not been revealed, but all Lebanese officials have expressed their optimism as to an agreement paving the way for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, which would give a glimmer of hope to the country in prey to a terrible economic crisis.
The leader of the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Israel if it begins gas extraction before an agreement on the disputed area, said on Saturday that "
the days to come would be crucial
“, suggesting an imminent settlement.
And in a tweet on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who had welcomed the US proposal the day before, said that "
Israel gets 100% of its security needs and even part of the profits from the Lebanese tank
” from Qana.
Read alsoFaced with Israel, Lebanon unable to defend its maritime borders
But Elias Bou Saab assured that “
Lebanon obtains under this agreement all its rights to the Qana gas field
”.
Lebanese head of state Michel Aoun assured his side in a tweet that "
there will be no partnership with the Israeli side
".
The Israeli authorities have indicated that they want to launch gas production as soon as possible at Karish, an offshore field operated by the British group Energean.
Israel is counting on the entry into production of this field in order to boost Israeli gas deliveries to Europe, which is seeking to diversify its supplies.
Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel had been suspended in May 2021 following disputes over the surface of the disputed area.
Tensions were heightened with the arrival in June of a ship chartered by the Jewish state at the Karish field, prompting the Lebanese side to ask the United States for a resumption of talks.
