The Deputy Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, received this morning (Saturday) from the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, the Israeli comments on the proposed Lebanese amendments to the draft maritime border agreement. This is according to a report in the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah. According to the report, the atmosphere in Beirut does not indicate that there are major obstacles and the country’s president, Michel Aon, told the newspaper that the answer “will be clear and very close.”
Agreement or escalation: are the negotiations with Lebanon on the way to collapse despite the American pressure? And also: What is the meaning of the threats of escalation on the northern border | panel #this week making order@MoavVardi Replying to @The_Kiss_ @roysharon11 @AmichaiStein1 pic.twitter.com/1aDLRuhZsr
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An official told the Lebanese newspaper that everyone, and the United States in particular, knows that it is impossible to continue dragging out the issue and that Lebanon is not paying attention to the threats coming from the Israeli side: “The equation is clear and simple – stability in exchange for Lebanon receiving all its rights.” According to the same source, in the United States efforts are being made to formulate different versions of the articles in the draft. According to him, any further attempt to cancel Lebanon’s amendments will be met with refusal – especially on the issue of the buoy line and the potential Kana gas field.
In addition, the source said that he learned that France also entered the picture of contacts and conveyed a message to Lebanon through the Prime Minister of the Transitional Government in Beirut, Najib Mikati, that Israel does not intend to escalate. Additional sources told the newspaper that the Americans stand behind the Israeli positions regarding the agreement, especially in the point related to the financial compensation from the Cana field. This, it says, is to help the Israeli government deal with the internal campaign against it: “The insistence on the word ‘compensation’ is intended to portray a situation in which Israel was able to obtain Lebanese approval regarding its right to the Kana field.”
A shark in stormy waters Listen to draw another day
One of the key data that is now standing behind the scenes surrounding the heavy pressure to reach an agreement at this time is the fact that Lebanese President Aoun is retiring from office at the end of October. The two points that are currently in talks between the parties concern the definition of the line of buoys. In the mediator Hochstein’s proposal, it was stated that there would be a status quo on the HaMovat line, and that this would be the end of the lawsuits until Lebanon and Israel reach another agreement, something that Lebanon is now opposed to. Another issue that is at the heart of the dispute over the agreement is the Israeli veto on the start of Total Energy’s operations in the Lebanese gas field as long as the amount of royalties is not agreed upon between the company and Israel.