“In the end, this is an agreement whose core is economic – and if signed – it will return to us and to Lebanon and its citizens who are suffering from a severe crisis for years to come,” the Israeli official said.
Regarding the nature of the negotiations, Gantz said: “Of course, during the negotiations the details cannot be disclosed to the public, but if we reach a final version of the agreement, it will be put on the Knesset table, and its main points will be presented to the public in an orderly and transparent manner.
In the technical field, he said that the agreement – if signed – does not represent a guarantee to prevent future friction with Lebanon, but there is no doubt that it will enhance stability and deterrence, and in the long run will weaken Lebanon’s dependence on Iran, which supplies it with fuel and other means.
Since last July, developments related to the file of demarcating the maritime borders between the two countries have accelerated after a halt, following the arrival of a production and storage vessel near the Karish field, which Beirut considers to be located in a disputed area, in preparation for the start of gas extraction from it.
The move prompted Beirut to demand the resumption of US-mediated negotiations.
At its launch, the talks were supposed to be limited to a maritime area estimated at 860 square kilometers, the borders of which are known as Line 23, based on a map Lebanon sent in 2011 to the United Nations.
But Lebanon later considered that the map was based on wrong estimates, and demanded that an additional 1,430 square kilometers be searched, including parts of the Karish field, known as line 29.
The Qana field is located in an area where Line 23 intersects with Line 1, the line deposited by Israel to the United Nations, and extends further than Line 23.
The negotiations that were launched between Lebanon and Israel in 2020, with American mediation, were halted in May last year, due to differences over the area of the disputed region.
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