Israel and Lebanon have reached a U.S.-mediated agreement settling a long-running maritime border dispute and delineating the two countries’ economic waters in the Mediterranean Sea.
The deal, which has the potential to unlock additional natural gas production in the Mediterranean at a time of global energy flow disruptions, was finalized on Oct. 11, according to both Israeli and Lebanese officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement that the deal is a “historic achievement that will strengthen Israeli security, will bring billions to Israel’s economy and ensure stability on the northern border.”
The office of Lebanese President Michel Aoun said in a statement that “the final version of the offer satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands and preserves its rights to its natural resources.”
‘Indeed Historic’
Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor and professor emeritus at Israel’s Bar Ilan University, said in a statement on Twitter that, if the deal holds, “it is indeed historic.”“A rare case of placing shared interests over ideology, and signaling weakened Iranian control,” he added.
“Some say it’s great, some say it’s terrible. I just have one question: what are the specific terms of the deal? Absent disclosure, the discussion is childish and meaningless,” he said.
‘Critical Stage’
Talks culminating in Tuesday’s landmark deal entered their final stretch last week when a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told Reuters that the two sides were “at a critical stage in the negotiations and the gaps have narrowed.”Israeli media reported that the main sticking point was over Lebanese recognition of a line of demarcation buoys Israel has placed out to sea from its coast.
Lebanon, which does not officially recognize the state of Israel, was reportedly concerned about any action that might be seen as a formal acceptance of a shared land border.
Experts say any settlement of the land border dispute between Israel and Lebanon would likely need to come as part of a broader peace deal that is still a ways off.