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MENA Observatory – Lebanon
The Lebanese negotiating delegation arrived this Wednesday morning at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Peace Force “UNIFIL”, in the south of the country, where the first round of negotiations will take place to demarcate the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon.
Thus it comes, while the Lebanese government objected to the mechanism to appoint a technical delegation to negotiate the demarcation of the southern borders with Israel by the Lebanese presidency, while the United States Department of State announced its participation with an envoy and mediator in the negotiations that meet today Wednesday.
The Israeli website “Walla” stated that Israel is ready to make concessions and give Lebanon more space in the disputed area, with the aim of reaching an agreement to demarcate the borders as soon as possible, noting that for the first time in Over 30 years, direct negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese diplomatic figures are underway on the issue. Political and civil.
Returning to the objection of the Lebanese government, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that his country’s negotiations with Israel are technical and limited to delimiting maritime borders.
Aoun recommended that “team members (including 4 negotiators) adhere to and defend internationally recognized Lebanese rights,” expressing his hope for a just solution that protects the sovereign rights of the Lebanese people.
Furthermore, the Israeli media suggested that Tel Aviv is willing to make concessions to reach an agreement with Lebanon regarding the demarcation of the border, but without revealing the truth and essence of these concessions.
Israeli media quoted sources close to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz as saying that “the deal with Lebanon will take place within weeks or months.”
The site indicated that the dispute between Israel and Lebanon over the demarcation of borders does not revolve around the territorial waters of the two countries, but rather the issue of economic water, which is the area in which every country has the right to use natural resources, including oil and gas exploration and the extraction of energy and natural and marine resources.
It is noteworthy that Lebanon and Israel are demanding that the ownership of gas fields in the economic waters of the Mediterranean be discussed, especially the gas field known as “Block 9”, as estimates by experts indicate the existence of a reserve of Natural gas in this region valued in billions of dollars, as the dispute between the two countries prevented international energy companies from further exploring. About gas in the region.
