A U. S. envoy on Monday expressed optimism that Lebanon and Israel would reach an agreement on the maritime border to resolve conflicting claims over offshore fuel fields.
The ongoing maritime border dispute between neighbors escalated in early June after Israel moved a production vessel near the Karish marine field, which is partly claimed through Lebanon.
This prompted Beirut to call for the resumption of US-mediated negotiations over the demarcation dispute.
“I remain positive that we can make continued progress as we have done in recent weeks and look to the future to return to the region and make the final arrangements,” Hochstein told reporters after meeting with Lebanon’s most sensible leaders.
Hochstein, the bearer of an Israeli proposal in reaction to a demarcation offer made through Lebanon last June.
This is the time of the envoy’s stopover to the region in less than two months.
On Monday, he met with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Nabih Berri at the presidential palace.
Lebanon will conclude “an agreement that preserves its rights and wealth and that can offer, as soon as the negotiations are over, an opportunity to revive the economy,” Aoun said ahead of Monday’s meeting.
The Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah stepped up its rhetoric and moves in the border clash after Israel moved the fuel drilling vessel to the Karish field. In its boldest move, Hezbollah recently sent 4 drones to the platform a month ago, all of which were intercepted through the Israel Defense Forces.
Over the past month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel, most recently last week when he warned that all Israeli land and sea “targets” were inside his terror group’s various missiles.
According to a channel 12 report, Israel sent a message to the United States and France warning the terrorist organization that any action taken against Karish’s offshore fuel box would prompt a strong reaction from the IDF.
Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a BORDER guarded by the UN.
Negotiations on the maritime border had resumed in 2020, but the procedure was blocked due to Beirut’s assertion that it was necessary to change the map used by the United Nations in the talks.
Lebanon first requested 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area, but then requested another 1,430 square kilometers, adding part of the Karish field.
Israel maintains sovereignty over the karish fuel box and seeks to expand it 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.
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