“Israel Has Surrendered to Hezbollah!”
Netanyahu slams US-brokered Lebanon deal, says Israel will not be bound by it when he returns to power.
Israel on Sunday gave its nod of approval to a US-brokered deal to resolve the maritime dispute between the Jewish state and Lebanon.
Two large natural gas fields are located near the maritime border between the two countries. The problem is that Israel and Lebanon are still officially at war, and have no agreed upon border, be it on land or at sea.
The Israeli demarcation line puts one of those fields (Karish) entirely in Israeli waters, while the second larger field (Qana) is situated two-thirds in Israeli waters and one-third in Lebanese waters.
As Israel began developing these gas fields, Lebanon complained, and then Hezbollah (the Iranian terrorist proxy that effectively controls Lebanon) started threatening war.
For months the Biden administration has been working to broker a compromise, and has now presented its proposal to all parties involved.
The deal on the table would draw a new maritime border, agreed upon by both sides, that is situated roughly in the middle of the lines demanded by both sides, respectively. That line keeps Karish entirely in Israeli waters, while placing the bulk of Qana in Lebanese waters. Israel would be compensated financially for the one-fifth of Qana that is in its waters (if Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon can be trusted to pay).
Prime Minister Yair Lapid told his cabinet that this is a good deal that “protects Israeli interests” and helps to further wean Lebanon off Iranian support.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu wholeheartedly disagreed, and accused Lapid of effectively “surrendering to Hezbollah threats.”
“He is giving Hezbollah sovereign territory of the State of Israel with a huge gas reservoir – which belongs to you, the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by N12. “He did it without discussion in the Knesset and without a referendum.”
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar acknowledged on Israel Radio that the Lapid government had indeed sidestepped protocol by not involving the wider Knesset, half of which aligns with Netanyahu. He argued, however, that in such circumstances he as Minister of Justice had the authority to approve doing so.
Netanyahu, again, disagreed, and issued a warning – presumably to Lebanon and the US – that if he regains the prime minister’s chair after the upcoming election, Israel will not be bound by this deal or the new maritime border it will create.
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