Israeli media: US seeks agreement after Lebanon president term over
International companies fear Hezbollah’s threats to "attack" Israeli offshore gas fields in the Mediterranean, mounting pressure on “Israel” to prevent any provocation or escalation, according to Israeli media.
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Israeli occupation forces (Archive)
News1, an Israeli news website, reported that “Israel wants guarantees that Hezbollah will not attack Israel gas rigs if the agreement is not reached by mid-September”.
Hezbollah is unwilling to provide any guarantees to the Lebanese government until it receives a clear draft agreement preserving Lebanon’s right to extract natural gas from the Mediterranean, as well as a precise demarcation of the maritime borders, the report added.
The report quoted unnamed sources in Lebanon who say that international companies fear Hezbollah’s threats to "attack" Israeli offshore gas fields in the Mediterranean, mounting pressure on “Israel” to prevent any provocation or escalation.
“The Israeli army is currently preparing for the possibility of a military confrontation with Hezbollah," the report said.
It also stressed that "Israel seriously takes the repeated threats of Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.”
"Israel is preparing to engage in combat for several days if Hezbollah attacks Israeli gas platforms in the Mediterranean," the report said.
The report went on to say that “Washington is not eyeing an escalation in the region since it is looking for alternatives to Russian energy not to mention that it wants Israel and Lebanon to reach an agreement after the Lebanese presidential elections.”
“Israel can end up delaying its schedule to start extracting gas from the area for a few months until after the Knesset elections," the report said.
It noted that “the Americans are working on a formula which allows Israel and Lebanon to start extracting gas at the same time after reaching an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border”.
Israeli media reported, on Sunday, that “Israel” is worried that Hezbollah would carry out, what it called, another "provocation" before the possible signing of an indirect maritime border agreement between “Israel” and Lebanon.
However, Israeli media didn’t give any information regarding what kind of “provocation security officials believe Hezbollah will carry out."
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed on Monday that the Israeli threats are to no avail, adding that Hezbollah's decision and approach are clear and "we are waiting for the coming days to act accordingly."
