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On Saturday, the Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, gave his instructions for the beginning of the negotiation process with the aim of demarcating the maritime borders with Israel in the south of the country.
The Army issued a statement saying that, in compliance with the directives of the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, the Commander of the Armed Forces met with the delegation in charge of the negotiation file to demarcate the borders..
The statement added: “During the meeting, the Commander of the Armed Forces gave basic guidelines to begin the negotiation process with the aim of delimiting the maritime borders from the line that starts from Ras Naqoura by land and extends into the sea. according to the midline technique, without taking into account any impact on the coastal islands of occupied Palestine, according to a study, prepared by the army leadership in accordance with international law.“.
The delegation’s meeting with the Army Commander is part of the preparatory meetings that precede the start of the talks between the two parties under the auspices of the United Nations in the middle of next week..
About ten days ago, Lebanon and Israel announced that an understanding had been reached to begin negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations at its headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, in a step that Washington, which will play the role of mediator and facilitator, described as “historic”, and that the first meeting will be held next Wednesday..
The Lebanese delegation includes four members, military and two civilians, they are Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, Colonel Mazen Basbous, technical expert Najib Masih and the head of the Oil Sector Authority, Wissam Shabat..
The delegation began its preparatory meetings, according to a source from the Lebanese presidency, who will meet early next week with the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, then representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Jan Kubis..
On the other hand, two days ago, Israel announced its delegation, which includes high-ranking officials, including the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Udi Adiri, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic adviser, Reuven Azar, and the head of the Department of Strategic Affairs of the army..
According to Lebanese officials, direct negotiations will not take place between the two delegations but will take place through the United Nations representative, even if all parties will sit in one room. But Israel said, according to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, that the talks would be “direct.”“.
Over the years, Washington led the mediation between the two parties, and this coincided with the signing of Lebanon in 2018 of the first contract to explore for gas and oil in its territorial waters, with a consortium of companies that includes “Total” , “Eni” and “Novatek”. One of the specified parcels includes a part in dispute with Israel..
The announcement by the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, of the framework agreement on the negotiations drew criticism in Lebanon, especially from opponents of Hezbollah, who saw in it the implicit approval of the party, which is Israel’s arch enemy and had previously announced its opposition to any American role in the negotiations due to its close association with Tel Aviv..
Hezbollah, in turn, stressed that the negotiations had nothing to do with “reconciliation” or “normalization” with Israel..
Lebanon and Israel are officially in a state of war, and Lebanon witnessed a bloody war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 that lasted 33 days, during which 1,200 Lebanese were killed, most of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers. .
