Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced on Tuesday that Lebanon and Israel have reached a historic agreement demarcating a contentious maritime border between them after years of discussions mediated by the US.
The agreement would ease a source of recent tensions and represent a remarkable compromise between nations with a history of antagonism and war. It would also pave the way for offshore energy exploration.
Lapid stated in a statement that “this is a historic success that will enhance Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border.”
President Michel Aoun of Lebanon declared that the final US proposal’s provisions were acceptable and expressed the hope that the agreement will be made public as soon as feasible.
The deal is intended to end a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where Lebanon wants to conduct natural gas exploration. Israel has already started generating natural gas in adjacent fields.
It establishes a system for both nations to receive royalties from an offshore gas field that crosses the line as well as the first border between Lebanese and Israeli waters.
The latest document “takes into consideration all of Lebanon’s requirements, and we believe that the other side should feel the same,” according to Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab. The heavily armed, Iran-supported Lebanese organisation Hezbollah also supported it.
Senior members of the Lebanese government and a Hezbollah official claimed that the organisation had accepted the parameters of the agreement and deemed talks to be “complete.”
In related news, Lebanon on Tuesday requested that French energy behemoth TotalEnergies begin gas drilling off its coasts.
Najib Mikati, the interim prime minister of Lebanon, welcomed a delegation from TotalEnergies, which received an exploration permit in 2018.
According to a statement from his office, Mikati “called on representatives of TotalEnergies at the meeting to promptly begin taking practical procedures to drill in Lebanese waters.”
