ISRAEL Maritime borders: for Beirut (and Washington) it is a “historic” agreement with Israel

President Michel Aoun reported with satisfaction the signing of the agreement that should put an end to the territorial disputes. At stake is the exploitation of two enormous deposits in the eastern Mediterranean: for Lebanon, that of Cana remains. It will not have the force of a treaty, but it will be formalized before the UN. The disagreement of a (small) part of the Lebanese Parliament.

Beirut () – “Historic”. This is how Lebanese President Michel Aoun described it last night, whose comment was released after that of his American counterpart, Joe Biden, and that of the Israeli Prime Minister, Yaïr Lapid, in reference to the agreement that the country of cedars and Israel have just reached. on the delimitation of maritime borders. “I announce the approval – Aoun said in a televised speech – by Lebanon of the final version drawn up by the American mediator, to delimit the maritime borders of the south”.

“This indirect agreement”, which he defined as a “historic success”, responds – he continued – to the “demands of the Lebanese and fully preserves our rights”. He then claimed that Lebanon has obtained “the entire Cana deposit”, without Beirut having to pay “any compensation” to the other party.

The use of the same adjective by Lebanon and Israel enshrines in a certain way the extraordinary efforts made by the United States, and by Amos Hochstein himself, to reach an agreement without losers (win-win) and close the way to any form of challenge . The danger came from the blocs of ultras on both fronts, hostile to reaching a common pact so that the interests of one faction would prevail.

In an interview granted last night to the Lebanese channel LBC, Hochstein considered that an agreement of this type would have “the merit of preventing chaos and more conflicts throughout the region.” The agreement will guarantee “economic prosperity for Lebanon […] and a consolidation of the borders to the north of Israel, which are reinforced, thereby eliminating the possibility of a war between Israel and Lebanon,” explained the US mediator.

The announcement was supported by the arrival in Lebanon of Laurent Vivier, director of the gas sector of the French giant Total, with the mission of exploring the Cana field. Vivier was received by Prime Minister Nagib Mikati, who asked him to start without delay exploration works. On October 12, US President Joe Biden had already called his Lebanese counterpart Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Yaïr Lapid to congratulate them on having reached an agreement that he defined as “a historic breakthrough”.

It has been a race against time rarely seen in the history of diplomacy, in which the American mediator put all his efforts to reach a plan acceptable to both parties before the parliamentary elections in the Jewish state, scheduled for November 1. In Israel, the text was approved by the security cabinet and the government, and sent for consideration to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

In order not to give the agreement the force of a treaty and be accused of normalizing relations with Israel, Lebanon will content itself with having it signed in Ras Nakoura, under the supervision of the UN mission (Unifil) and Washington officials, and then homologating it in the Glass Building in New York. However, two MPs opposed this procedure and called for it to be disclosed and reviewed by Parliament, because both Lebanon and Israel emphasize their ability to stabilize the (disputed) border area between the two countries.

The agreement also specifies that with respect to the part of the Cana field in Israeli territorial waters, the country will receive compensation paid directly by the operator Total. The sum will come exclusively from the royalties received by the oil giant. Lastly, with regard to the so-called “line of buoys”, the pact stipulates that the zone it delimits, as well as the land borders between Lebanon and Israel, will be discussed independently of the maritime borders, and each country provisionally maintains its current positions.