The unprecedented maritime border deal agreed this week between Israel and Lebanon could be a step towards peace, a senior Israeli official has told the JC.
The deal, brokered during weeks of intense negotiation with French and US help, ends a ten-year dispute and will allow Israel to begin pumping natural gas from its offshore Karish field within days, ready for export to energy-starved Europe.
Israel will also get a slice of the royalties from Lebanon’s Qana field, which the old, disputed border cut in two, but will now be developed — with help from French fuel giant Total — exclusively by Lebanon.
Describing the deal as a “win-win” for both sides, the official rejected claims that it undermined Israel’s security because it required concessions to Lebanon’s Hezbollah-backed government. “This is a permanent, equitable solution which strengthens Israeli security,” the official said.
With Israel’s elections due next month, the source was quick to claim political credit on behalf of the government of PM Yair Lapid. “Bibi [Netanyahu] tried to get this deal and didn’t manage it — the same deal we have agreed.”
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Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s cabinet all endorsed the agreement on Wednesday, except for the right-wing Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
Critics of the deal include retired Brigadier General Amir Avivi, CEO and founder of the Israel Defence and Security Forum, an influential 5,000-strong group of former defence professionals.
He claimed Israel had “folded” in response to threats by Hezbollah: “The attempt to whitewash the deal using alleged ‘security considerations’ is nothing but a desperate attempt to buy short-term quiet out of fear from facing a terror organisation that is extorting a sovereign country.
“Since its founding, the State of Israel has never relinquished territory. Sovereignty also applies to the ocean bed and everything beneath it. Relinquishing sovereign assets would be a dangerous precedent that will undoubtedly be regretted in the future.” He said the deal would also harm future generations financially, by reducing Israel’s assets.
The government official rejected such claims, denying that Israel had in effect “capitulated” and shown its weakness, saying last-minute demands made by Lebanon had all been rejected — yet still Lebanon signed.
“Saying we gave in to Hizbollah is factually incorrect,” the source said, pointing out that under the deal, Israel would be paid royalties from Qana ahead of Lebanon.
The official told the JC: “Anyone crossing this agreed new line will be crossing an internationally-recognised border, and it will be policed. Moreover, it is in Israel’s interests to strengthen the economies of both countries.
"A more prosperous Lebanon will be less dependent on Hezbollah and Iran."
As an agreement between two countries that still class each other as enemies “this is something rare and significant,and this would engender long-term advantages”, the official added.
