Lebanon and Israel on Thursday reached an agreement delimiting their maritime border, which ensures the allocation of valuable offshore gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean and reduces tension in the region.
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US President Joe Biden congratulated the two countries, technically in a state of war, for the “official conclusion” of this agreement after months of arduous negotiations through the United States.
The powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah, for its part, hailed a “great victory for Lebanon” and announced that it was ending its “exceptional” military measures which had left Israel on the alert.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the deal constituted de facto “recognition” of the Jewish state by Beirut.
But Lebanese President Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah, retorted that the agreement had no “political dimension”, and the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah assured that the agreement did not constitute “recognition” of Israel.
Yaïr Lapid and the Lebanese president each signed the agreement on Thursday.
Then, the two countries exchanged letters separately which marked the formal conclusion of the agreement, during a ceremony at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in the border locality of Naqoura, in the presence of the American mediator Amos Hochstein and the UN special coordinator in Lebanon Joanna Wronecka.
Ms. Wronecka said she had received the maritime coordinates signed by the two countries, and should submit them to the UN headquarters in New York.
“This is a political achievement, it is not every day that an enemy state recognizes the State of Israel in a written agreement in front of the entire international community,” he said. Mr Lapid.
In a tweet, President Aoun replied that it was a purely “technical” agreement, without any “political dimension” or “consequences that contradict Lebanon’s foreign policy”.
Beirut insisted that its delegation avoid any official contact with that of the Jewish state.
The media did not have access to the building, around which blue helmets and the Lebanese army were deployed, while UNIFIL helicopters flew over the area, according to an AFP photographer.
For Lebanon, mired in a deep economic crisis, this agreement comes a few days before the end of President Aoun’s mandate, without a successor being found for him.
It also comes shortly before the November 1 legislative elections in Israel, for which Mr. Lapid is campaigning.
“Exchange of Letters”
The maritime border agreement took the form of two exchanges of letters, one between Lebanon and the United States and the other between Israel and the United States.
The agreement, which will allow the two countries to exploit gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, was reached thanks to years of American mediation.
According to the Israeli authorities, this gas will make it possible to reduce the cost of the country’s energy but also to boost exports to Europe, which is seeking to diversify its supplies due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Under the agreement, the offshore Karish field lies entirely within Israeli waters.
Lebanon for its part will have all the exploration and exploitation rights of the Cana field, located further to the northeast, part of which is located in the territorial waters of Israel. But “Israel will be remunerated” by the firm operating Cana “for its rights to any deposits”, according to the text.
Amos Hochstein told the press in Beirut that the agreement made it possible to “create hope and economic opportunities” and to establish “stability” for both parties.
Without even waiting for the signature, the energy group Energean launched natural gas production on the Karish field on Wednesday, after receiving the green light from the Israeli government.
Lebanon, for its part, asked TotalEnergies to quickly begin prospecting work in the Cana field.
The agreement could not have been signed without the consent of the powerful Hezbollah in Lebanon, which had threatened over the summer to attack Israel if it began extracting gas from the Karish field before the conclusion of the agreement. ‘a deal.
“With the conclusion of the agreement (…) the mission of the Resistance is over”, announced in a speech Hassan Nasrallah.
“All the measures and provisions, as well as the exceptional and specific mobilizations of the Resistance in recent months are over,” he added.