With the file entering the final decisive stages, awaiting the Israeli response, the process of tug-of-war has begun, especially in Israel, over the identity of the party that benefits most from this agreement.
Lebanon lost 13 years
In this context, former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that this agreement, in principle, serves Lebanon’s interest, and therefore care must be taken not to squander this opportunity, especially since Lebanon, which wasted 13 years in sterile controversy, has He does not achieve more than he achieved regarding the demarcation of his borders.
Prime Minister Siniora explains that in 2009 the government he headed determined the borders of Lebanon’s exclusive maritime economic zone in the south, and since that time there has been a large number of accusations of neglecting rights, making it impossible to do any work to develop the wealth inherent in that region. On the other hand, Israel determined the borders of its economic zone two years after Lebanon did so, but it was quick to benefit from its fields and began to generate revenues for its treasury.
No evidence of gas possession
In his interview with the “Sky News Arabia” website, Siniora believes that all the talks on the issue of Lebanon obtaining the promised revenues are considered premature, as Lebanon, until this moment, has no evidence of its possession of oil or gas reserves, indicating that the issue of revenues cannot be addressed, until after Excavation and ensuring the presence of reserves, to begin the process of preparing for the extraction of these resources from the ground, which may extend for a period ranging from 5 to 7 years.
He stressed the need to focus efforts on restoring the Lebanese government’s role in a way that encourages investment in Lebanon.
Settlement
For his part, the oil expert said; M. Rabie Yaghi, in an interview with Iqtisad Sky News Arabia, said that what happened between Lebanon and Israel can be described as a “settlement” and not an agreement or treaty, noting that from a technical point of view, everyone benefited from this settlement, whose results will be positive for all parties.
The gains of both parties
According to Yaghi, Lebanon was able to recover its rights, as the settlement imposed Israel’s recognition of the 23rd line, which represents the borders of Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone.
At the same time, Israel has gained a kind of security stability that will enable it to start the process of commercial production close to the Karish field, where billions of dollars have been invested.
Yaghi believed that Lebanon would not be able to start the process of commercial production of gas and oil before 2030, but through this settlement he gained hope for an improvement in its situation after 8 years, noting that what is happening in Israel from the tightening of ropes regarding the demarcation of the maritime border with Lebanon is because of the elections. It is expected that things will reach their happy conclusions because both parties benefit.
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