AP reports that, on Tuesday, the Israeli Prime Minister claims to have reached a historic agreement after months of US-mediated talks with neighboring Lebanon over their split maritime border. Lebanon and Israel both claim around 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea.
The two countries have been officially at war these past years, since Israel’s establishment in 1948. This deal was called by Premier Yair Lapid a “historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border.”
The current form of the proposal, according to the office of President Michel Aoun, “satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands, and preserves its rights to its natural resources,” and the deal will be discussed with officials before being officially announced.
According to a senior official involved in the negotiations, President Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Speaker Nabih Berri are all satisfied with Hochstein’s most recent reiteration of the maritime border agreement.
This deal was also hailed by many due to the fact that it could lower tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies stated that “It might help create and strengthen the mutual deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah.”
Still, nothing is set in stone. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Lapid lacks the right to sign a contract and vowed, if re-elected, to renounce the “disgraceful deal.”An appeal to the Supreme Court was already filed by the influential conservative think tank Kohelet Policy Forum in an effort to stop the deal.
Hassan Nasrallah, has said that the group would endorse the Lebanese government’s position, but he has yet to make a statement about this deal.