A conservative think tank filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on Wednesday after the government said it would submit an agreement with Lebanon to resolve a maritime border dispute to a national referendum should such an agreement be reached.
The Kohelet Policy Forum, a non-profit organization, filed the petition to prevent the cabinet from unilaterally approving a deal, saying the government would violate Israel’s fundamental law, which has special constitutional prestige, if it did not present the maritime territory factor to Lebanon as a component. of an agreement on a public vote.
“This is a dramatic resolution in each and every sense: security, economy and politics. It is very problematic for the government without the Knesset to accept it in an era like this, against the Basic Law: the referendum,” Kohelet tweeted, referring to the government’s transitional capacity ahead of the Nov. 1 election.
The organization said it filed a petition two weeks ago, which it rejected because it did not give the government enough time to respond.
Israel and Lebanon have been involved for more than a year in occasional talks negotiated by the US. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security is aimed at resolving a dispute over the rights to offshore fields believed to involve the richness of herbal fuel, and the parties are reported to be in the process of reaching an agreement.
Both countries claim some 860 square kilometres (330 sq mi) of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon also claims that Karish’s fuel box is located in disputed territory as part of ongoing maritime border negotiations, while Israel claims it is identified worldwide. economic waters.
According to a law passed in 2014, any proposed earthworks within the borders of the State of Israel must be approved by the Knesset with a majority of 61 votes and then by the public in a referendum, or be approved by the legislature by a qualified majority of 80 votes.
An anonymous Lebanese official quoted by Russian media outlet Sputnik said Beirut is still waiting for Israel’s reaction to its new offer, but is confident a deal will be reached next month.
“We are close to reaching an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border with Israel,” the unnamed Lebanese official was quoted as saying by Russia’s semi-official newspaper.
“The border demarcation factor will be resolved in September,” he said.
The U. S. envoy U. S. secretary of state for the deal, Amos Hochstein, said earlier this month he was “positive” about the deal, and Lebanon’s foreign minister, which expired last month, said he was more confident than ever about negotiations.
A senior Israeli official told AFP on Wednesday that there is no contradiction in engaging in talks with Lebanon, where the Hezbollah terror organization is a tough force, while opposing a nuclear deal with Iran in part because of its ties to the organization.
Israel supports the option of foreign corporations exploiting offshore reserves for Lebanon, providing a way out of Beirut’s economic crisis, but the official did not expect fuel revenues to succeed in Hezbollah.
“I don’t see any explanation as to why to have a conversation with Hezbollah about this,” the official said.
The organization has stepped up its rhetoric in recent months as Israel and Lebanon interact in the talks. It continues to fiercely oppose any concessions with Israel.
Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has threatened to attack Israeli offshore facilities.
In July, the IDF shot down 3 Hezbollah drones smuggled into a fuel platform in one of the disputed camps.
The dispute over the maritime border dates back more than a decade. In 2012, Lebanon rejected a U. S. proposal. to obtain 550 square kilometers (212 square miles), almost two-thirds of the domain, while Israel reportedly gained the remaining third. The disputed domain covers the Karish fuel box and the Qana box.
Lebanon and Israel last fought war in 2006, have no diplomatic relations and are separated across a UN-patrolled ceasefire line.
They resumed negotiations over their maritime border in 2020, but the procedure stalled due to Beirut’s claim that it was necessary to change the map used by the UN in the talks.
Lebanon is in dire need of an agreement on the maritime border in the Mediterranean as it hopes to exploit offshore fuel reserves in a bid to mitigate what has the worst economic crisis in its fashionable history.
Israel maintains its sovereignty over the Karish fuel box and seeks to expand the box as it tries to position itself as a supplier of herbal fuel to Europe.
In June, Israel, Egypt and the European Union signed a memorandum in Cairo whereby Israel will export its herbal fuel to the bloc for the first time.
Ash Obel contributed to this report.
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