Demarcation deal reduces threat of battle with Hezbollah: Lapid
4 Min Read
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid says the agreement demarcating the maritime borders with Lebanon is approved by the Israeli security establishment.
-
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The maritime border demarcation agreement with Lebanon swathes away the threat of a confrontation with Hezbollah, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Wednesday after the two parties reached a final agreement on the maritime borders.
"Attacking the Karish gas rig would be like attacking all of Israel," Lapid told a press conference. "The demarcation agreement will bring in billions instead of a war, and it was agreed upon by the entire security establishment."
"Israel is not afraid of Hezbollah, but in the situation where it is possible, the government's responsibility is to prevent war from taking place," Lapid underlined. "In light of the opposition's reckless behavior, we have decided not to take the agreement to the Knesset for a vote."
"The demarcation deal ratified a new security understanding in the sea," Israeli occupation Security Minister Benny Gantz said. "Timing the agreement with the approaching elections is not desirable, but it is necessary."
Israeli Major General (Reserve) Yitzhak Brick told Israeli media earlier in the day that "Tel Aviv" lost its military strength over the past two decades, exposing the occupation to various threats.
"For you to conduct negotiations about political and economic interests, you must have a trump card, and if you don't, you are giving up or gambling everything," Brick added.
The Israeli occupation cabinet approved on Wednesday the US-brokered maritime border agreement with Lebanon, with all its members voting in favor, except Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who abstained, Israeli media reported.
The media said Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid did not wish to seek the Knesset's approval, since if put to vote in the parliament, it is not clear whether the maritime agreement will pass.
In the same context, Israeli former Brigadier General Amir Avivi said on Tuesday that Hezbollah has forced "Israel" to submit and kneel.
The former Brigadier General clarified that "Israel" was now witnessing a dangerous precedent whereby Hezbollah has threatened "Israel", and "Israel" has submitted to the threat especially now that it is close to holding Knesset elections in November.
Hezbollah: 100, 'Israel': zilch
The dangerous aspect of the agreement, Israeli occupation opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said, is that "Lapid and Gantz set a very dangerous precedent: terrorism is threatening Israel into retreat. This a devastating hit to our deterrence power."
"The maritime agreement with Lebanon is an embarrassing act of surrender by Lapid and Gantz to (Hezbollah Secretary-General) Nasrallah. Lebanon got 100%, and "Israel" got nothing," Netanyahu said.
This is not the first time that Netanyahu throws jabs at Lapid over the demarcation agreement, as the agreement between "Tel Aviv" and Beirut stirred up a lot of unhinged political discussions within the Israeli occupation.
"This is a historic achievement that will bolster Israel's security, bring billions into the Israeli economy and bring stability to the northern border," Lapid said in a statement after the deal was struck.
Soon after Lapid's statements, Israeli media gave former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a platform to criticize the drafted agreement from a position of opposition.
The Israeli opposition leader argued that "this is not a historical agreement, but rather a historical submission, liquidation [in the commercial sense] one that pertains specifically to Lapid."
Israeli newspaper Haaretz tackled the Israeli occupation's maritime border agreement with Lebanon and considered that the balance tilted to Lebanese Hezbollah's side in this matter.
"Israeli society is not interested in discussing the price of war with Hezbollah. This is a doomsday scenario. Thousands of missiles on Israeli cities. Tremendous destruction, cities in ruins, thousands of civilians killed, hundreds of thousands injured," Haaretz said.
That came after Lebanon received the written proposal from the US mediator Amos Hochstein through US Ambassador Dorothy Shea regarding the demarcation of maritime borders.
It is noteworthy that the Lebanese Resistance, 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.
