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Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel for the demarcation of borders under the auspices of the United Nations and mediation by the United States will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, and the negotiations will take place at the United Nations headquarters in Naqoura (southern Lebanon), while the The Lebanese army said that an Israeli warship yesterday violated the country’s territorial waters.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the negotiations his country will participate in tomorrow to demarcate its southern borders with Israel are technical and specific negotiations with the demarcation of maritime borders.
Aoun added during his meeting with his country’s negotiating delegation that the negotiations “should be specifically limited to the issue of demarcation, provided that the negotiations begin on the basis of the line that begins from the Ras al-Naqoura area by land and is It extends by sea, based on the midline technique without counting any impacts on the coastal islands of occupied Palestine. ” “.
A Lebanese security source said that the Lebanese and Israeli negotiating delegations will meet in a room inside the base of the United Nations forces operating in southern Lebanon “UNIFIL” (Unifil), but that the negotiations between the two parties will be made through a mediator, while the Israeli energy minister stated that the negotiations will be direct.
The Lebanese President: Negotiations are limited to the issue of border demarcation, provided they start on the basis of the line that starts from Ras Naqoura by land (Reuters)Preparatory meetings
And the French Press Agency reported 3 days ago that the delegation formed by Lebanon to negotiate the demarcation of the maritime borders, met with the commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, during the preparatory meetings, which precede the beginning of the negotiations. .
Beirut and Tel Aviv announced earlier this month that an understanding had been reached to start negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations to demarcate the borders between them. Washington’s mediation, which lasted 3 years, convinced the Lebanese and Israeli parties to enter into negotiations to end the conflict on their borders.
The Lebanese army said that General Aoun met with the negotiating delegation and gave “basic guidelines to begin the negotiation process with the aim of demarcation of the maritime borders, based on the line that starts from Ras Naqoura by land and extends by sea according to the midline technique … and which is based on a study prepared by the army command in accordance with international law “. .
2- Israel is based on the demarcation of an island that has been abandoned and considers it part of its land, which is located 1000 meters from the coast, and does not constitute an island in the concept of international law of the seas, and this type has no economic zone or cliff.
Building on these two violations, Israel claims control over 1,700 square kilometers of Lebanese rights
10/7 pic.twitter.com/fiQ0GHqOaM– Abbas Hamieh (@ abbashamieh33) October 13, 2020
Delegations negotiate
The Lebanese delegation includes 4 members, military and two civilians, they are Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, Colonel Mazen Basbous, technical expert Najeeb Masih and the head of the Oil Sector Authority, Wissam Shabat.
In return, Israel announced that its delegation would include the Director General of the Energy Ministry, Udi Adiri, Raufin Azar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic adviser and the head of the Army’s Department of Strategic Affairs.
In 2018, Lebanon signed the first contract to explore gas and oil in its territorial waters, with a consortium of companies that includes “Total”, “Eni” and “Novatek”. The contract includes one of the maritime areas, which continues to be the subject of conflict between Lebanon and Israel, which is Area No. 9, with an area of approximately 860 square kilometers.
The announcement by the president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, on the second of this month, of the framework negotiation agreement with Tel Aviv, unleashed criticism in Lebanon, especially from opponents of Hezbollah, who saw in it the tacit approval of the party, considered the arch enemy of Israel, and the previously announced party. His opposition to any American role in the negotiations due to his close association with Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah
Last Thursday, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc emphasized that border demarcation negotiations with Israel do not mean peace with it, and the bloc added in a statement that “the negotiating framework on an exclusive issue related to our southern maritime borders, and the restoration of our land, which leads to the demarcation of our sites of national sovereignty, has nothing to do with that. ” Absolutely not in the context of reconciliation with the Zionist enemy that usurps Palestine, nor in the normalization policies that it has recently followed, which can be followed by Arab countries that have never believed in the option of resistance.
Yesterday, Monday, the US State Department announced its participation in an envoy and mediator in the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and the ministry said in a statement that David Schenker, undersecretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, will lead the session of opening of the negotiations, and will be accompanied by Ambassador John DeRoucher, who will be the US mediator in these Negotiations.
Lebanon and Israel are officially in a state of war, just as Lebanon witnessed a bloody war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 that lasted 33 days, during which 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed.
In a separate context, the Lebanese army announced today that an Israeli gunboat violated Lebanese territorial waters off the Ras Al-Naqoura border area (south of the country) yesterday. The army said in a statement that the Israeli ship fired at Lebanese fishermen, indicating that the army is following the matter in coordination with United Nations forces operating in southern Lebanon.
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