This is a diplomatic achievement, Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid said at the start of the special cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday. “It is not every day that a hostile country recognizes the State of Israel in a written agreement for the international community.” Officially, both countries are at war.
The agreements, signed separately by Israel and Lebanon, were due to be handed over to US mediator Amos Hochstein this afternoon by negotiating teams at a UN base in Nakura, southern Lebanon.
The agreement puts an end to a decades-long dispute between the two warring countries over a sea area off the coast. The dispute over the border in the Mediterranean had intensified after the discovery of large quantities of natural gas. The negotiations were brokered by the United States.
The agreement is intended to enable economically distressed Lebanon to develop the Kana offshore gas field. It is still unclear how much gas can actually be extracted there. The area around the Karish gas platform, northeast of the Israeli port city of Haifa, remains within Israeli sovereign territory. The country started gas extraction there on Wednesday.
The gas from Israel could also help alleviate the energy crisis in Europe. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been increasingly looking for other gas suppliers.
(SDA)
Source: Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
