The Defense Cabinet will convene today to discuss Lebanon’s response to the draft agreement on the maritime border obtained by the American mediator Amos Hochstein, while the American administration is exerting heavy pressure on the Israeli government to approve the agreement despite the amendments that Lebanon demands to be included in the draft agreement.
Prime Minister Lapid and Defense Minister Gantz support the approval of the draft agreement with Lebanon.
Lebanon’s answer was given by the Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Elias Bou Saeb, to the US embassy, which sent it to mediator Amos Hochstein, from where it was transferred to Israel.
The amendments requested by Lebanon in the draft agreement were approved by President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabia Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Lebanese officials claim that the amendments demanded by Lebanon are reasonable and do not contradict the heart of the agreement and that the US asked Lebanon to take into account the political situation of Prime Minister Yair Lapid in view of the elections and the harsh criticism of the Israeli opposition on the agreement with Lebanon.
Elias Bou Saeb said last night that “Lebanon will not pay even one cent on the gas field in Kana” and that ” this is the heart of the agreement”.
He added that “Israel has no rights to the gas field in Kana”, in his estimation the agreement on marking the border will be signed within 15 days.
The Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” reported on October 5th that the amendments that Lebanon demands are that the agreement will not ratify any official borders and that it will not be related to the land borders disputes and that the situation should be left as it is in the area in front of the coast of Al-Nakura.
Lebanese officials say that failure to sign the agreement from Israel’s side will lead to a security escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Optimism in Lebanon
Optimism is growing in Lebanon that the agreement with Israel on the maritime border will be signed, something that will allow Lebanon in the future to get out of the severe economic crisis it is going through.
In the meantime, the full content of the agreement has not been published and all the details published in the media are classified as leaks by all parties, it seems that in Lebanon there is a unified position in favor of the agreement while in Israel the opposition led by Netanyahu is conducting a media and legal battle against the signing of the agreement with Lebanon.
In Lebanon, they reject outright the claim that the agreement is the beginning of a process of normalization with Israel.
The expected agreement is actually based on guarantees from the USA and France, therefore the value of these guarantees is limited, the Hezbollah organization does not consider itself bound to this agreement and may violate it at any given moment.
Hassan Nasrallah has patience and he managed to subdue the Lapid-Ganz government by launching 4 unarmed drones towards “karish” gas rig to convey his massage.
A victory for Hezbollah
Israel’s expected signing on the agreement of the maritime border with Lebanon is interpreted in the Middle East as a victory for the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
This is a political victory over Israel and the Western countries through terrorism and threats of violence.
The USA, Israel and the Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, understand once again that Hezbollah is the true ruler of Lebanon and it is it who determines the important political decisions.
The Lebanese government would not have dared to go to an agreement on the maritime border with Israel without a from Hezbollah “green light”.
The agreement strengthens Hezbollah’s position within Lebanon and it will try to leverage the success in influencing the appointment of the next government and the election of the new Lebanese president, since the current president Michel Aoun ends his term as presinet at the end of the month.
Hezbollah has proven once again that it can achieve its political and strategic goals in Lebanon and the region due to its military power and that it cannot be bent or weakened.
