The ink is not yet dry on the document of understanding with Lebanon on marking the maritime border.
The document was almost drowned in a sea of eulogies and fatal criticisms, which have nothing to do with the reality on the ground and nothing, except for the fact that there are a little more than two weeks left until the polls open.
The supporters of the agreement defined it as a "historic agreement", which paves the way for the normalization of relations with Lebanon, and it is, of course, not such.
On the other hand, the opposition called the agreement a "humiliating surrender" to Hezbollah, which will deduct billions from Israel's future profits from the gas and pour them into the hands of the terrorist organization, which will be used to strengthen against us.
And that too, of course, is far from the truth.
Biden Lapid and the President of Lebanon.
The Americans are back in the ring, photo: Olivier Fitosi/Flash90, EPA, AFP
The truth, and this is also acknowledged in Lebanon, is that this is a proper agreement, which provides advantages to both sides.
Anyone who claims that under the existing circumstances, after more than ten years of ongoing conflict, a better agreement could have been achieved, is simply throwing sand in their eyes.
Furthermore, no one has any doubt that the decision in Israel to place the Shark rig where it is located, and the preparations for the start of drilling, are what put Nasrallah on a high tree from which, even if he wanted to, he could not come down.
The agreement prevented war
The beginning of the pumping in Karish, without an agreement with Lebanon on the border, would inevitably lead to a military skirmish with Hezbollah.
From such a round, which there is no guarantee would have ended in "a few days of battle" and it would likely have degenerated into war, Nasrallah would have emerged defeated, perhaps even eliminated.
But the price, also for Israel and especially for the civilian home front, was not easy.
Those who listened the other day to the speech of the Secretary General of Hezbollah - in which he relied on the agreement reached, but did not brag too much about the victory ("If the president of Lebanon says he supports the agreement, then I also support it") - could imagine his sigh of relief at not having to implement his threats.
Shark rig.
Israel will be able to start pumping gas quietly, photo: AFP
As mentioned, this is not a historic agreement nor a first step towards normalization.
The Lebanese insist on calling it the document of understanding, declaring that they will not meet with the Israelis in Nakura in the same room, that they will sign a separate copy and hand it over to the Americans to be deposited in the UN. They also emphasize that the line of sight, which Israel wanted to be recognized as the permanent border line, appears in the document only as the "status quo" line ".
And yet, this is a good agreement, which constitutes, as the document clearly states, "a permanent solution to the maritime conflict".
It provides security stability to Israel and economic benefits to Lebanon, without significantly detracting from Israel's profits.
There is also no reason to assume that Hezbollah will be the sole party to collect the royalty money from the gas.
There is also added value to the agreement, which does not directly concern the two signatory countries: the American mediation, which was crowned with success;
Washington's guarantees to both sides, even if meaningless in practice, signal to some extent the renewal of the United States' presence in the Middle East, which seemed to have been abandoned to Putin's mercy.
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