Israel and Lebanon reach historic agreement on maritime borders

10/11/2022 - 14:35 PM

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JERUSALEM — Israeli and Lebanese leaders appear to have agreed to a U.S.-brokered deal that will let both countries exploit gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, potentially ending a decades-long dispute over their maritime border, easing growing military tensions and providing a desperately needed source of income to Lebanon’s collapsing economy.

The agreement, which needs formal approval in both countries, was hailed by leaders in Beirut and Jerusalem as a historic breakthrough. It is the first agreement on border demarcation between the two nations.

“This is an historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement Tuesday.

Lebanese leaders have yet to make an official announcement on the deal, but President Michel Aoun said in a tweet Tuesday that “the final version of the offer is satisfactory for Lebanon and answers its demands and preserves its rights to its natural wealth.”

“If everything goes well, [Washington’s] efforts could imminently lead to a historic deal,” Bou Saab, Lebanon’s lead negotiator on the issue, told Reuters after receiving the text of the deal from American officials Tuesday.

Officials hope the agreement, if finalized, will cool intensifying tensions along the frontier. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that controls southern Lebanon, has threatened to attack a new offshore gas facility that Israel is readying for production in what Lebanon claims are disputed waters. The group has launched drones toward the gas field more than once, including three unmanned aircraft that were shot down by Israel in early July.

In the face of Hezbollah’s threats to strike should Israel begin pumping natural gas from the Karish Field, Defense Minister Benny Gantz put Israeli troops on high alert after the maritime border talks ran into last-minute disputes last week.

Hezbollah had no immediate comment on the draft of the agreement. A media officer for the group told The Washington Post that Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah is likely to talk about the deal in a speech scheduled for Tuesday. “Today we’ll find out,” the official said.

The agreement would define only the offshore boundary between the countries, not the track of the 50-mile land border that remains in dispute after multiple wars and continues to be patrolled by a United Nations monitoring force after more than four-decades.

The maritime frontier has proved to be equally contentious in recent years, particularly after gas deposits were discovered in the sea bed inside the 330-square mile region. Israel, which has already developed gas fields in nearby waters, strung a line of buoys three miles out from a rocky cliff near the U.N. headquarters. Beirut condemned the move as a unilateral provocation.

Resolving the dispute — which has gained urgency as the risk of conflict rose and Lebanon’s economic free fall has grown more critical — has been a regional priority for the Biden administration. The president’s special envoy, Amos Hochstein, brokered talks Rover the past year with the goal of giving countries fair access to the area.

Details of the agreement were not made public Tuesday. But reports of its broad terms in recent week suggest that it clarifies the lines of Exclusive Economic Zones for both countries. Lebanon would gain access to promising fields in previously disputed waters; Israel would be free to begin operating the Karish well with Lebanon’s agreement.

Lebanese officials have said the final deal would not have them in direct partnership with Israel, and it was unclear how royalties would be split from the one area, the Qana Field, which lies partially in Israeli waters.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Tuesday morning with Energy Minister Walid Fayyad and a delegation from French oil giant Total. Fayyad expressed hope that the deal will benefit Lebanon and grant it its “rights and full share in Qana field without sharing it with anyone,” according to state media. He also emphasized the need to begin the slow process of gas exploration as soon as possible.

“Logistical issues take time but work will begin immediately,” he said.

Lebanon’s leaders and public hope the deal will pave the way for gas exploration and bring in much-needed revenue to the country, which has been hit by sharp economic decline and a banking crisis that have ravaged the local currency and left much of the country out of work.

In a place previously an oasis for opulence, people sifting through trash cans for food is now a common sight in the capital Beirut. The World Food Program said in a report last month that an estimated 33 percent of Lebanese now lack minimum dietary provisions.

Officials expressed hope that the development of offshore gas fields means at least the beginning of hope for export revenue and energy in a country where electricity is now an expensive luxury and some Lebanese have recently begun joining Syrians and other migrants in perilous journeys to Europe.

In Israel, which does not have diplomatic relations with Lebanon, it was unclear what steps the government needed to take to ratify the agreement. Legal experts said the deal could be enacted simply on the approval of the current cabinet, most of whom have signaled enthusiasm for a draft they said benefits both countries.

“The State of Israel is interested in having a stable and prosperous Lebanese neighbor,” Gantz said Tuesday in remarks to commanders along the Lebanese border. “The agreement in discussion is just and positive for both sides.”

But Israel is holding national elections in less than a month, and some officials, including alternative Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, have said in the past that such an important agreement should go before the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Bennett’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

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Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix has written for just about every section of the paper since coming to the Washington Post 20 years ago, reporting from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and most corners of the United States.  Twitter
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Sarah Dadouch is a Beirut-based Middle East correspondent for The Washington Post. She was previously a Reuters correspondent in Beirut, Riyadh and Istanbul.  Twitter
 

 

 

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