Israeli media: Demarcation deal to be signed Thursday or Friday

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English + Agencies
23 Oct 2022 00:05
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Israeli occupation media outlet report that it is expected that the maritime demarcation agreement with Lebanon to be signed between Thursday and Friday after the legal period in which it was presented to the so-called Knesset expires, which is 14 days.

Israeli occupation PM Yair Lapid.

On Saturday, Israeli media reported that Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid "wants to expedite the signing of the gas agreement with Lebanon."

Yaron Abraham, the political correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, said that in "Israel" they say that "on Wednesday the agreement would have been put on the Knesset table for 14 days, and after the 14 days end the government must meet to finally ratify the agreement," adding that, "Currently, there is a big question, what will the Supreme Court decide, especially when it will decide it?"

"In the government, they are convinced and confident that the Supreme Court will not reject the gas agreement with Lebanon, but they cannot know exactly when the ruling will be, and the assessment is that it will be issued within several days," Abraham added.

Lapid wants to speed up the signing of the agreement

"In any case, it seems that Prime Minister Lapid wants to advance very quickly, and at the moment he has the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, he will go ahead and gather the government, and if we talk about the timetables, it may be the end of next week in Al-Naqoura, near 'Rosh Hankara', the Lebanese side will sit with the Americans separately, and the Israeli side will site with the Americans separately as well, in order to sign this agreement," the correspondent said.

Ratification of the agreement "Thursday or Friday"

Israeli Kan channel predicted that the signing of the agreement would take place "either Thursday or Friday."

In response to a question regarding “things that are expected to happen next week, which will certainly affect the elections,” Gilli Cohen, a political affairs commentator for the Israeli Kan channel, said, “It is true, that the agreement is expected to be signed either on Thursday or on Friday."

Cohen continued, "If we calculate the period, on Wednesday afternoon the date of putting the agreement before the Knesset ends, and therefore in general the agreement can only be signed on Thursday or Friday. In Israel they are waiting for two things, first the decision of the Supreme Court in the wake of the petitions, and then a date for the government session will be determined, which is expected to finally ratify the agreement."

"It is not only that it cannot take place after the elections, but it must take place before the end of October, and this is the timetable, from here the estimate ranges between Thursday or Friday," Cohen said.

Herzog meets Biden on Wednesday

The political affairs commentator added, "On the other hand, this week, President Herzog will meet with President Biden in Washington where it is expected to discuss the Lebanese issue, and it is not a coincidence that this meeting coincides with this date, Wednesday evening. They want this to be an achievement for the White House as well by signing this agreement."

French President Emmanuel Macron told Al Mayadeen yesterday that "the demarcation of the southern maritime borders of Lebanon is good news."

This comes after Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced, on October 13, Lebanon's agreement to adopt the final version of the maritime border demarcation agreement, stressing that it "responds to Lebanon's demands and preserves its rights in full," and that, "Lebanon did not concede not even a kilometer to 'Israel', as we obtained the entire Qana field, and refused to recognize the Israeli buoys' line."

A Lebanese source told Sputnik that the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, will arrive in Beirut next Wednesday. His visit will focus on the Lebanese preparations to sign the border demarcation agreement at the headquarters of the International Emergency Forces in Al-Naqoura.

The source added that "no deadline for signing has yet been set, but if it turns out that there are Israeli considerations that prevent signing before October 31, which is the date that the term of the Lebanese President Michel Aoun ends, then nothing prevents setting a date for signing next month."

It's noteworthy that the Lebanese President had earlier called on Total Energies company to quickly begin exploring Block 9 in the Mediterranean sea, "to make up for the time lost due to indirect negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime borders."

In his turn, Prime Minister of the care-taker Lebanese government, Najib Mikati, requested that Total immediately proceeds with drilling for gas in Lebanese waters after meeting with a delegation from the French oil giant in Beirut earlier this month.