Lebanon urges respecting deadlines for border demarcation deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Aug 2022 22:36

Lebanon, through its deputy speaker, stresses the importance of working within acceptable deadlines due to the time pressure factor.

A meeting between Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and the US mediator and ambassador (Archive)

Regarding the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between “Israel” and Lebanon, Lebanese Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab slammed all the latest negative and positive reports about the course of negotiations, whether by Israeli or international media, as “mere speculations that are not based on any information or official stances.”

During a lengthy phone call with US mediator Amos Hochstein, Bou Saab stressed the importance of working within acceptable deadlines due to the time pressure factor.

“Lebanon is carrying out the border negotiations from a position of strength,” he tersely stated.

“Hochstein briefed Bou Saab on the outcome of the latest contacts that he held with Israeli officials, the last of which took place a few days ago, stressing to him that he will continue his communication with the Israeli officials in the coming days,” Bou Saab’s press office said in a statement.

'Israel' fears military escalation, is on high alert: Israeli media

Israeli media reported, on Sunday, that “Israel” is worried that Hezbollah would carry out 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."

On July 2, the Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah released a statement on the three UAVs sent on a recon mission over the Karish gas field, before being shot down by Israeli occupation forces.

“Israel will give up a segment in the heart of the sea as part of the talks, while Lebanon will forgo an area close to the coast," Israeli Channel 12 reported without citing a source for the information.

Israeli mounting fear comes just a few days after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened the Israeli occupation over its attempts to forcibly extract gas from the contested region, warning, "If Lebanon does not obtain the rights demanded by the Lebanese state, we are heading toward an escalation whether or not the nuclear agreement is signed."

"The focus in Lebanon must be on Karish and the Lebanese [maritime] border, as well as the US mediator that is still wasting time amid a time constraint," he stressed.