Israel and Lebanon announced this morning that they have reached a "historic" agreement to settle a decades-long dispute over control of a gas-rich stretch of the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel's prime minister Yair Lapid hailed the deal as a "historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy and ensure stability on the northern border".
Lapid is set to present the agreement to the cabinet and government tomorrow, and if the deal is ratified by both countries, it is expected to reduce the immediate threat of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants and it will also make it easier for gas to be extracted from the eastern area of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Israeli announcement came minutes after Lebanese President Michel Aoun tweeted that “the final version of the offer satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands and preserves its rights to its natural wealth.”
Israel and Lebanon have reached an agreement settling the maritime dispute.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 11, 2022
The draft agreement meets all security and economic principles laid out by Israel.
PM Lapid will convene the Security Cabinet tomorrow followed by a meeting of the government.https://t.co/HqLXpPBddE
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah had repeatedly threatened that the group would strike Israel if it began gas exploration at Karish before a maritime agreement was reached, but according to Reuters, the terror group has also agreed to the terms of the deal and considers the negotiations over.
Eyal Hulata, the national security adviser and the lead Israeli negotiator at the talks, said in a statement: "All our demands were met, the changes that we asked for were corrected. We protected Israel’s security interests and are on our way to a historic agreement."
Officials in both countries hope that the agreement will create new sources of energy and wealth in both countries, and could help Lebanon solve its energy and financial crises following the 2020 port explosion.
It could also give Europe a possible new source of energy amid shortages caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Lebanon's caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad (R) meeting with US Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein in Beirut on July 31, 2022 to continue the talks on resolving the bitter maritime dispute (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)
The agreement was reached after intense efforts by US mediator Amos Hochstein in recent days to bridge the divide between the two sides. Unlike the normalisation of diplomatic ties established between Israel and Arab states following the Abraham Accords; the two sides are entering separate agreements with Washington, rather than a direct agreement, according to officials speaking to the New York Times.
On the Israeli side, the deal needs to be agreed by the government before it is then sent to the Knesset for ratification.
If agreed, the accord would resolve a major dispute over around 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea, which cover the Karish and the Qana gas fields.
The exact terms of the agreement have not been publicised, but officials told the Times of Israel last week that the proposal being discussed granted Israel international recognition of its buoy-marked boundary five kilometers (3.1 miles) off the coast of the northern town of Rosh HaNikra, which was established in 2000 by Israel after withdrawing from southern Lebanon. Israel’s border will then follow the southern edge of the disputed area known as Line 23.
Map showing Israel-Lebanon maritime border claims #AFPgraphics @AFP pic.twitter.com/ae76ybHHXl
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 11, 2022
Lebanon will have full access to the area north of that line, which includes the Qana gas field. However, a senior Israeli official told reporters that Israel will be compensated for giving up access to that area, which the agreement will still recognise as Israeli waters. This means that the maritime border location is not formally settled.
“None of us have illusions that this is a peace agreement, or anything like that,” said Ariel Ezrahi, an expert on energy diplomacy in the Middle East told the New York Times.
Nonetheless, “we cannot underestimate the importance of this agreement, not just for Lebanon and Israel — but for the region as a whole, and further afield,” Mr. Ezrahi added.
“It brings peace and calm in the eastern Mediterranean, which is also good news for Europe, as Europe seeks to diversify its energy supply."
