The start of negotiations to demarcate the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel

After years of US mediation, negotiations will begin today (Wednesday) at the headquarters of the United Nations force in southern Lebanon, under the auspices of Washington, to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel, in which it accelerated the possibility of containing oil or gas in the disputed area, according to Agence France-Presse.
Earlier this month, Lebanon and Israel announced that they had reached an understanding to begin negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations at its headquarters in the border city of Naqoura, in a step that Washington described as “historic” between two countries in state of war.
In Naqoura, the delegations of the two parties should sit in the same room, provided that they do not speak directly but through a United Nations representative, according to Lebanese officials, and in the presence of the United States Under Secretary of State for Close Affairs. East, David Schenker, the opening session facilitator, provided US Ambassador John Deroche plays the role. Mediator in negotiations.
Israel described the negotiations, which refer to an area extending to some 860 square kilometers, as “direct”, which Lebanon insists on denying.
The Lebanese delegation includes four members: Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, Colonel Mazen Basbous, technical expert Naguib Masih and a member of the Petroleum Sector Authority, Wissam Shabat.
On the other hand, the Israeli delegation includes six members, among them the director general of the Ministry of Energy, Udi Adiri, the diplomatic adviser of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuven Azar, and the head of the Department of Strategic Affairs of the army.
The appointment of politicians by Israel within the delegation generated controversy in Lebanon, which insists on the technical nature of the negotiations, similar to previous talks that took place in the framework of the Nissan Understanding Committee after the Israeli process ” The Grapes of Wrath “in 1996, or the negotiations to demarcate the Blue Line after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, and finally the tripartite meeting. Which has been carried out periodically since the 2006 war, led by UNIFIL forces and with the participation of soldiers from both countries.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said yesterday (Tuesday) that “technical negotiations and investigation should be limited to this specific issue.”
In Israel, a source from the Energy Ministry told reporters that the matter is “important for Israel, but it is also crucial for the Lebanese side,” indicating that the matter can only take a few months if there are no obstacles. He added that “our objective is to resolve the dispute over the demarcation of the maritime line”, and emphasized: “We are not under any illusions, our objective is not to create some kind of normalization or a peace process.”
Over the years, Washington led the mediation between the two parties, which intensified with the signing of Lebanon in 2018 of the first contract to explore gas and oil in two areas of its territorial waters, one of which is in the party in dispute with Israel.
Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, favors a solution. It says, “Lebanon does not have a better option to be able to work in Block No. 9.” He did not rule out that the Lebanese do not care about the negotiations and their outcome, as they are mired in their living crises in the wake of the economic collapse.
The Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, who was in charge of the archive, hoped that if the demarcation was successful, there would be “discoveries” in the disputed area to help “pay off our debt.”
Berri’s announcement of the “framework agreement” on the negotiations drew criticism in Lebanon, especially against Hezbollah, which is Israel’s arch enemy and has long viewed Washington as a “dishonest” mediator.
Khashan does not see the negotiations as a step towards future broader agreements, considering that “as long as there is no solution between the United States and Iran, nothing will change.”
Lebanon has long insisted on linking the demarcation of maritime borders with land borders, but the negotiations will focus solely on maritime borders, provided the demarcation of land borders is discussed, according to the United Nations, within the framework of the periodic tripartite meeting.
Khashan believes that the issue of delimiting maritime borders is easier than land. He explains: “If an agreement is reached on land borders, this will raise a question about the need for (Hezbollah’s) weapons, as it is still underlining its need to restore the occupied part of the Shebaa farms and the Kafr hills. Shuba “. He adds, “(Hezbollah) will not agree to hand over their weapons.”