Lebanon is expected to give its response on Tuesday to a U.S. proposal to settle its maritime border dispute with Israel, which should allow the two countries to move forward with the development of large gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean.
Lebanese leaders met Monday to craft a unified response to the U.S. proposal and expressed confidence that a deal would be reached soon, echoing similar optimism from the Jewish state.
The two neighboring countries, officially in a state of war, have been negotiating for more than two years, through the intermediary of the United States, the delimitation of their maritime border.
Lebanon will give “a response to the latest proposal” of the American mediator Amos Hochstein “in the next 24 hours”, including some “remarks” and “amendments”, said the vice-president of the Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, mandated by President Aoun to oversee the negotiations.
“We hope for a definitive answer before the end of the week,” he added, after a meeting with Head of State Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
According to a Lebanese official involved in the negotiations who requested anonymity, Beirut wants to make “changes to certain phrases (in the proposal) so as not to leave room for any misunderstanding.
For his part, the Prime Minister announced to the press that the agreement was “on the right track”, ensuring that the position of Lebanese officials, deeply divided on political issues, was “unified in the interest of Lebanon”.
The leader of the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who had repeatedly threatened to attack Israel if it starts gas extraction before an agreement on the disputed area, had estimated on Saturday that “the coming days would be crucial”, suggesting an imminent settlement.
– “No partnership”-
Lebanese officials did not reveal the details of the U.S. proposal or the substance of their remarks. An agreement would pave the way for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, which would give a glimmer of hope to a country in the grip of a terrible economic crisis.
Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel had been suspended in May 2021 following disputes over the surface of the disputed area.
They initially covered an area of 860 km2, in accordance with Lebanese claims registered with the UN in 2011.
But Lebanon then said it wanted to claim an additional right to 1,430 km2, including part of the Karish gas field, which Israel says is in its UN-recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Discussions resumed this summer at the request of Lebanon, which reversed this maximalist demand, tensions having arisen with the arrival of a ship at the Karish field to begin gas exploitation on behalf of Israel.
In a tweet on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who had welcomed the U.S. proposal the day before, said that “Israel gets 100% of its security needs and even a share of the benefits of the Lebanese reservoir” of Qana.
But Elias Bou Saab assured that “Lebanon gets under this agreement all its rights on the gas field of Qana.
The Lebanese head of state Michel Aoun assured in a tweet that “there will be no partnership with the Israeli side”.
If the two countries reach an agreement, they will not sign a treaty, since they are technically in a state of war, said Bou Saab.
A mechanism will be established to register the border demarcation with the UN.
The Israeli authorities have indicated that they want to start gas production as soon as possible at Karish, an offshore field operated by the British group Energean.
Israel is counting on the start of production from this field to boost deliveries of Israeli gas to Europe, which is seeking to diversify its supplies.
