The Israeli government on Thursday formally approved the agreement with Lebanon that will delimit the maritime borders, a milestone that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid highlighted for what it represents in terms of concessions from «an enemy country».
«It is not every day that an enemy country recognizes the State of Israel, in writing, before the entire international community,» Lapid said at the beginning of a special meeting of his Executive aimed at ratifying this historic pact, according to ‘Times of Israel’.
«It is not every day that the United States and France back us and provide economic and security guarantees for this agreement,» Lapid added, confident that Israel will gain and become stronger in the face of threats on the northern front, such as the Shiite militia-party Hezbollah.
Lebanon and Israel are technically at war, so the agreement, the fruit of two years of negotiations, has a special symbolic importance. It concerns an area of some 860 square kilometers claimed by both sides and in which natural gas fields have been discovered.
Both Israel and Lebanon agreed to recognize Israel’s buoyed border, allowing Beirut to enjoy the area north of Line 23, including the Qana field, while the Israeli authorities maintain control over the Karish field, the exploitation of which has already begun.
