Israeli PM Lapid claims Lebanon ‘recognises’ Israel in landmark sea border deal
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Lebanon and Israel were expected on Thursday to sign a US-brokered maritime border deal which would pave the way for lucrative offshore gas extraction by the neighbours that remain technically at war. Although Israeli PM Lapid claimed this deal signalled that Lebanon ‘recognises’ Israel, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun denied that assertion, saying that “demarcating the southern maritime border is technical work that has no political implications”.
Hailed by US President Joe Biden as a “historic breakthrough”, it comes as Western powers clamour to open up new gas production and reduce vulnerability to supply cuts from Russia.
The deal, which the US embassy told AFP is scheduled to be signed around 3:00pm (1200 GMT), comes as Lebanon seeks to extract itself from what the World Bank calls one of the worst economic crises in modern world history.
It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid seeks to lock in a major achievement days ahead of a general election on November 1.
Hours before the scheduled signing, Lapid claimed that Lebanon’s intention to ink the deal amounted to a de-facto recognition of the Jewish state.
“It is not every day that an enemy state recognises the State of Israel, in a written agreement, in front of the entire international community,” he said, shortly before his government approved signing it.
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun denied that assertion, countering that “demarcating the southern maritime border is technical work that has no political implications”.
Delicate protocols
“The agreement… will take the form of two exchanges of letters, one between Lebanon and the United States, and one between Israel and the United States,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General.
The letter exchange is due to take place in the southern…
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Source : france24
