Officials in Israel and Lebanon announced Tuesday they have accepted a U.S.-mediated agreement on a maritime border between the countries.
Why it matters: This opens the path to a historic deal between the two traditional enemies that will allow the beginning of natural gas exploration in the disputed area in the Eastern Mediterranean and reduce the threat of regional war.
What they’re saying: Israeli national security adviser Eyal Hulata said all of the Israeli government’s demands in the maritime border negotiations with Lebanese officials were met.
- “The changes we asked for in the text were made. All of Isrsel’s security interests were safeguarded. We are on a path towards a historic agreement,” he added.
- Lebanese chief negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters the proposed agreement “takes into consideration all of Lebanon’s requirements” and “could imminently lead to a historic deal.”
The big picture: The negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials have been going on for more than a decade. In the past year, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein resumed the efforts to reach a deal.
- The dispute is over a potentially gas-rich, 330-square-mile disputed area of the Mediterranean Sea with an estimated value reaching billions of dollars.
- The need for a deal has become especially urgent as the Karish rig, a major Israeli gas project that Israel’s government says is located south of the disputed area, prepares to come online. Hezbollah has called the beginning of production in the Karish rig a red line.
Driving the news: A week ago, it appeared the two sides were headed towards a deal. But negotiations broke down after Israeli officials rejected comments by their Lebanese counterparts on the draft agreement, claiming they were a “material breach” of the text.
- Israeli officials were concerned about their Lebanese counterparts’ refusal to recognize the three-mile security line of buoys Israel placed in the sea between the countries and the Lebanese reservations about the compensation Israel would get for its economic rights on the disputed area.
- But U.S. officials continued to mediate between the parties. And Israeli and U.S. officials said a solution on Monday night that a solution was found to the remaining issues and a final text was sent to the parties.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with further context on the negotiations.
