Today, Sunday, the US envoy for energy affairs, Amos Hochstein, arrived in Beirut to continue discussing the file of demarcating the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel, which constitutes a point of contention that necessitated the launching of threats from Hezbollah and counter-threats from Tel Aviv.
And the US State Department stated - in a statement - that reaching a solution regarding the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon is possible through negotiation and diplomacy.
Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the US envoy will present a new Israeli proposal that "contains a solution that allows the Lebanese to develop gas reserves in the disputed region, while preserving Israel's commercial rights."
If an agreement is reached, the Israeli official said, the Lebanese will be able to do "some drilling" there.
Hochstein began his tour by meeting Director General of Public Security Abbas Ibrahim and Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, and he will meet tomorrow, Monday, President Michel Aoun and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The history of the dispute over the demarcation of the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon dates back to more than 10 years, which witnessed many tensions and exchanging threats as well as mediation.
The negotiations that began between Lebanon and Israel in 2020 with American mediation stopped in May of last year;
As a result of disputes over the area of the disputed area.
At its launch, the talks were supposed to be limited to a maritime area of about 860 square kilometers, based on a map Lebanon sent in 2011 to the United Nations.
But Lebanon later saw that the map was based on wrong estimates, and demanded that an additional 1,430 square kilometers be searched, including parts of the Karish field.
Hezbollah's threat
After the arrival of the gas extraction platform off the Israeli coast, Lebanon called on the American mediator to resume negotiations, and presented a new offer for the demarcation of the border that did not address the Karish field.
There were reports that the proposal was based on a zigzag border line, according to which Lebanon would obtain the entire Qana field in exchange for Israel's acquisition of the Karish field.
In the same context, the Lebanese Hezbollah's military media published a video showing the oil extraction platform, the production ship "energy power", and the drilling ship "Setnna Icemax" in the disputed area between Lebanon and Israel.
The recording also shows the coordinates of the ships' deployment, about 90 kilometers from the Lebanese coast.
In early July, Hezbollah announced the launch of 3 drones towards the disputed area with Israel, which includes the Karish field, and Israel announced at that time that the drones had been shot down.
Hezbollah had previously threatened that it would not allow Israel to extract gas from the Karish field and "beyond the Karish field," as he put it.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced this month that if Lebanon is prevented from extracting oil and gas from its waters, "no one" will be able to extract or sell gas and oil.