A US official revealed new progress in the file of demarcating the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, while Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz threatened to destroy Lebanon if Hezbollah attacked the Karish gas field, which is disputed between Lebanon and Israel.
And the US news website Axios quoted a US official as saying that progress had been made in the negotiations to demarcate the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon, as new drafts were exchanged to try to bridge the remaining gaps in the agreement.
The Israeli Walla website quoted an official in the US administration as saying that new drafts and copies were exchanged in an attempt to reach an agreement on the remaining gaps.
In the same context, Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted an official Lebanese source as confirming that contacts have been going on for two days continuously with the American mediator Amos Hochstein about the file demarcation of the border.
exchange ideas
The source added that the communications are via the video circuit, and that there is a serious movement and an exchange of ideas with Hochstein in an attempt to address all the gaps and details related to the file.
As for Anadolu Agency, it quoted an informed Lebanese source that the American mediator handed over to Beirut the Israeli notes on the draft maritime border demarcation agreement, and that Elias Bou Saab, the deputy speaker of Parliament, is discussing these remarks with Hochstein.
Bou Saab - who is assigned by the Lebanese presidency to follow up the file - had said in press statements two days ago that 90% of the agreement had been completed, but the remaining 10% was decisive.
In turn, the French Foreign Ministry announced that it is actively participating in the American mediation, considering that the agreement will benefit the two countries and their peoples.
Israel threatens
On the other hand, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Israel's Channel 12 that the agreement is good for Israel's security and strategic interests, and that it enhances regional stability and reduces Iranian influence in Lebanon.
Gantz added that the ball is now on the Lebanese side, expressing his hope that the agreement will be signed soon.
Gantz said that if Hezbollah commits any sabotage action against the Karish field and obstructs the extraction of gas, it will cause damage and all of Lebanon will pay the price, as he put it.
איתות לנסראלה, בצל הקשיים במשא ומתן ללבנון: מחר צפויה להתחיל בדיקת האסדה - השלב האחרון בדרך אספק.
גורם ישראלי: קשיים לוגיסטיים מנעו את המהלך כבר לפני חודש @gilicohen10 #חדשותהשבת pic.twitter.com/GiZbQB6ekY
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 8, 2022
The Israeli channel stated that the Israeli security leadership had authorized the "Energan Israel" company to start examining the possibility of operating the Karish field, and the channel also stated that it is expected to start testing the work of the gas platform in Karish tomorrow, and that in the absence of technical malfunctions, gas can be extracted within a few weeks.
And on Thursday, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Yair Lapid rejected Lebanon's comments on the text of the agreement, after the American mediator Hochstein transferred them to Tel Aviv.