A draft seen by Archyde.com on Wednesday said the US-brokered agreement to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel aims to “reach a lasting and fair solution” to the long-running conflict.
“This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which the United States Government sends a notice confirming each party’s agreement to the provisions of this Agreement,” the draft reads.
On the day Washington sends this notification, Lebanon and Israel will simultaneously send identical coordinates to the United Nations defining the location of the maritime boundary.
According to the text of the agreement, the two sides recognize Israel’s security line in front of the settlement of Rosh Hanikra.
The Israeli Navy off the Rosh Hanikra settlement
The agreement notes that Lebanon and Israel may renegotiate the maritime borders between them if negotiations take place on the land borders separating the two countries, which were not addressed.
According to one of the terms of the agreement, 17% of the profits from the gas that are generated will be returned It will be extracted from the reservoir Sidon to Israel.
This comes after officials said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Israel had reached a historic agreement to demarcate a disputed maritime border, after years of US-brokered negotiations.
Although the agreement is limited in scope, it would represent an important settlement between the two countries, two foes with a long history of conflict, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of newer tensions between the two countries.
The agreement aims to resolve a border dispute in the eastern Mediterranean, in an area where Lebanon hopes to explore for natural gas. Israel is already extracting Natural gas from nearby fields.
A drilling ship operating for Israel in the Karish field in the Mediterranean
The agreement demarcates the border between Lebanese and Israeli waters for the first time, and also establishes a mechanism for both countries to receive revenues from Total Energy’s exploration of an offshore gas field that extends across the border.
The agreement does not affect the land borders between the two countries. Where Israel and Hezbollah clashed frequently in recent decades.
Although Lebanon, Israel and the United States lauded the conclusion of the talks, the agreement itself has yet to receive final approvals in Israel or Lebanon.