Bou Saab: Demarcation agreement final draft handed to President Aoun

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English + Agencies
11 Oct 2022 12:08
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The Deputy to the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament announces that he handed over the final draft of the maritime demarcation agreement to Lebanese President Michel Aoun and states that Lebanon got all its demands

Deputy to the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Elias Bou Saab.

Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese House of Representatives Elias Bou Saab on Tuesday handed over to President Michel Aoun the draft of the agreement that he received from the American mediator Amos Hochstein regarding the indirect negotiations on the demarcation of the southern maritime borders between Lebanon and "Israel".

"The maritime demarcation file has been completed and placed in the custody of the president," Bou Saab said from the Presidential Baabda palace, noting that "the agreement is fair."

Bou Saab stressed that "Lebanon received its demands because they are rightful," pointing out that "President Aoun will carry out the necessary consultations to discuss the final version of the agreement."

He also pointed out that, "President Aoun began his term by issuing oil extraction decrees," wishing that the President would conclude his term by reaching an agreement on the demarcation of maritime borders.

This came after Bou Saab confirmed on Monday that, "Lebanon has received from Washington the final version of the draft maritime border agreement with Israel".

"The draft maritime border agreement takes into account all Lebanese requirements," Bou Saab told Reuters, adding that "a historic agreement may be imminent".

Shortly after receiving the draft from US meditator Amos Hochstein, Bou Saab stated, as quoted by the news agency, that "if everything goes well, Amos Hochstein's efforts could imminently lead to a historic deal."

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Monday that he hopes to complete all arrangements related to the demarcation of the southern maritime border in the next few days after the indirect negotiations led by US mediator Amos Hockstein have made progress.

The company working in the Karish rig, Energean, released a statement on Sunday announcing that it has launched the testing process of the rig; however, "Israel" told the US that the injections are merely a test and that oil production will not happen today in a clear attempt to relay a message to Hezbollah that it has not yet crossed the red lines.

The Israeli media was quick to explain the situation, indicating that "Tel Aviv asked the American mediator Amos Hochstein to inform Lebanon that it will not extract gas from the Karish field today," and that "Tel Aviv is interested in getting the message to the secretary general of Hezbollah that it does not want a war."

It is noteworthy that the Lebanese Resistance group Hezbollah has been a very effective factor in bringing the Israelis to the indirect negotiations table after it announced from day one that it has the Lebanese government's back in its righteous and sovereign claims.

Extraction of gas from Karish without guarantees to Lebanon that it will be able to explore and extract its maritime resources has been declared a red line by Hezbollah since the negotiations kicked off, with the Israeli military receiving the threats loud and clear and increasing preparation to anticipate operations against the gas platform by the Resistance.