Nazir Reda wrote in Asharq Al-Awsat:
The Lebanese authorities are awaiting what the American mediator will bring to the border demarcation negotiations with Israel, Amos Hochstein, at the end of this week, in order to crystallize an “appropriate position,” as Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, in charge of following up on the file, said yesterday that “we cannot be over-optimistic.”
Hochstein is supposed to arrive in Beirut, carrying Israeli answers to the Lebanese authorities about the proposal that he conveyed from Beirut to Tel Aviv in early August. The Lebanese had stipulated obtaining the entire “Qana field” located within a zigzag geographical area northwest of Haifa Beach, extending from border line No. 23, which makes the disputed area 860 km in addition to the entire Lebanon field. Lebanon adheres to obtaining the entirety of that geographical area and the wealth located in its subsoil under the sea. It also rejects any form of sharing wealth with Israel.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab confirmed that “communication with the American mediator is continuing, and he is expected to visit Lebanon this week,” noting that “Hockstein’s visit to Lebanon will be preceded by visits to Europe and Israel.”
Bou Saab said in a statement from Baabda Palace after his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun that “if the American mediator is visited, as expected, it will be an additional positive step towards a solution.”
Bou Saab said: “The contacts did not stop during the past two weeks, despite all the inaccurate and misplaced words that were said in the media, for example the signing of an agreement during the past week, or the work of one company with the Lebanese and Israeli parties, or a complete refusal by the Israelis to present or imagine The Lebanese, especially after Hochstein’s meeting with the three presidents at Baabda Palace. All this talk is inaccurate, and contacts are still in place, and Hochstein’s visit to Beirut will be preceded by visits he will make to European capitals and to Israel.” He added: “The Total issue can help Lebanon in the solution, and His Excellency will make contacts to help in this matter, there is Points are still stuck and need solutions. Therefore, the expected visit of Hochstein, does not mean that it will carry the final solution, but it will be an additional positive step towards the solution, and we must know that this issue is thorny and complex, but it is moving in the right direction. Communication will increase during the current month, and the level of communication will rise, and we hope to reach a result. We do not wish to be overly optimistic, nor do we say that we are pessimistic. Things are going in the right direction, and we must keep hope that the file will be completed within not long time.”
Bou Saab added that “this month of September will be decisive, and if it turns out that the Israeli will remain stubborn and do not want a solution, there are other options for Lebanon and this presidency in particular, because we are all keen to preserve Lebanese rights by various means and at the appropriate time.”
While Hochstein will not bring to Beirut the final version of the solution or an agreement ready to be signed, but rather will convey the Israeli responses to the Lebanese officials, the officials are reticent about the details of the negotiations and offers received by Lebanon and the course of the indirect talks that are contained within Hochstein’s shuttle tours between Beirut and Tel Aviv, and information in Beirut spoke about Hochstein is communicating with all concerned parties to reach a fair formula, and he is communicating with the French to obtain a commitment from the French company “Total” to start exploration and extraction after the completion of the agreement.
It seemed that the United States had put pressure on Israel recently, through the direct involvement of US President Joe Biden on the negotiating line, which raises the hopes of the Lebanese that an agreement will soon be reached that will allow Lebanon to resume indirect negotiations according to the framework agreement mechanism under the flag of the United Nations and at its headquarters in Naqoura in In southern Lebanon, with the mediation and facilitation of the Americans, it also allows the companies “Total” and “Eni” to resume exploration work in the Lebanese economic waters, which have been suspended since the spring of 2021.
Since last July, Hezbollah entered the line of negotiations, by conducting unarmed marches over the Karish field, from which Tel Aviv seeks to produce gas this fall, and threatened to use force in the event that Lebanon was prevented from exploring for its wealth, as he announced that he would not allow Israel produces gas from Karish, without allowing Lebanon to explore for its wealth.
Sources keeping pace with Hezbollah’s positions said that the party is awaiting the answer that Hochstein will bring to Beirut next week, noting in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat that “if the Lebanese government accepts the answer, and things go in the right direction that satisfies Lebanon, that will be good.” Especially after Tel Aviv postponed production activity in the Karish field, but “if the Lebanese government rejects what Hochstein holds, the party will have a position,” which is a move or a measure, without specifying its nature.
The party asserts that the deadline is “not open.” Its Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, said that the Israelis are seeking to produce gas this September, as winter begins in Europe in September, which means that Lebanon will lose the opportunity if it does not obtain its rights before the end of September. Last June, he also called for “commitment to the borders required by the Lebanese state and lifting the veto on oil and gas extraction in Lebanon.” He stressed that “the direct goal should be to prevent the enemy from extracting oil and gas from Karish, and to stop the activity that it will start, or may have started,” stressing that “every day of delay will be recorded the loss of the wealth and money of the Lebanese people.”
Lebanon and Israel are quarreling over a marine area rich in oil and gas in the Mediterranean, with an area of 860 square kilometers, according to maps deposited by both parties with the United Nations. The United States is mediating indirect negotiations to settle the dispute and delineate the maritime borders between them.
“Indirect” negotiations were launched between Beirut and Tel Aviv in October 2020, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the aim of demarcating the borders between the two sides. Five rounds of negotiations were held, the last of which was in May 2021.