Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced that he would continue to work quietly to conclude the maritime border demarcation agreement with Lebanon, accusing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of criticizing the agreement without seeing it, while Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that things are on the right track.
Lapid said that "Netanyahu and his entourage continue to talk about the agreement with Lebanon without seeing it or knowing its content."
He added that his government will continue to work quietly in order to complete the agreement in the interest of Israel, and to achieve security needs as determined by the security services.
Netanyahu's response
For his part, Netanyahu accused Lapid of what he called submission to the threats of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and said that the party would obtain sovereign areas belonging to Israel and a gas field worth billions of dollars, in order to buy missiles and direct them to Israel.
He added, "If Lapid behaves in this way in front of Hezbollah, it is not surprising how he manages matters in front of Hezbollah's godfather, Iran. This is frightening."
Netanyahu considered the agreement illegal and not binding on the strong right-wing government that will be formed early next month, as he put it.
Adiri's resignation
In a related context, the former undersecretary of the Israeli Ministry of Energy and head of the negotiating delegation for the demarcation of the border with Lebanon, Udi Adiri, said that his resignation from his position came against the background of his applying for a new job.
Adiri added - in a tweet - that he was not interested in entering into the political debate in Israel over the agreement, which he said was consistent with the professional level that accompanied the negotiation process.
Lebanon's position
In Lebanon, Mikati said that things are on the right track in the file of demarcating the maritime border with Israel, noting that a response will be sent to the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, including technical notes, and that the basic premises of this agreement are complete, according to him.
For his part, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab confirmed that his country has obtained all its rights in the Qana field, adding that Lebanon will not sign an agreement or treaty with Israel, and that there is a specific mechanism for demarcating borders with it.