Stage set for Lebanon, Israel negotiations to resolve row over sea border
BEIRUT PUSHING LINE FROM 860 SQ KM TO 2,290 SQ KM REMAINS A HURDLE
Amonth after Lebanon got its new Cabinet, Israel announced its readiness to return to the negotiating table over gas-rich disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.
These negotiations can bring economic relief to Lebanon, which is facing one of the worst financial crises in modern history. Producing and exporting gas would help fill its empty coffers, which once relied heavily on revenue from tourism and banking — two sectors that have now collapsed.
The maritime talks began under UN auspices last autumn, but were suspended five months ago due to impossible conditions set forth by Lebanon’s former prime minister Hassan Diab, a protege of Hezbollah and close ally of President Michel Aoun. US special envoy Amos Hochstein is expected in both Beirut and Tel Aviv by the end of the month to jumpstart the negotiations.
Two sticking points
Five months ago, the talks stalled over two major issues.
One was Israel granting the American firm Halliburton a drilling contract in the disputed area. Second was Lebanon’s unilateral redrawing of the disputed area, pushing the line from 860 sq km to 2,290 sq km.
The newly claimed territory was originally the brainchild of Aoun. He referred the matter to the Cabinet, asking Diab and the ministers of Defence and Public Works to ratify it into a decree that would be sent to the UN as the basis for negotiations.
This prompted Defence Minister Zeina Akar to complain to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, given that he had been handling the border dispute for an entire decade, on the basis of 860 sq km, and not 2,290.
Aoun’s gambit
Diab and his two ministers eventually signed off on Decree 6433, sending it back to the Presidential Palace for approval. Aoun then surprised them by refusing to sign, claiming that the decree required approval of all ministers. During a meeting with US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale in Beirut last April, he promised that his country would return to the negotiating table “with no preconditions”.
Many believe that the entire ordeal was a PR stunt by the president who wanted to give himself a direct role in the negotiations, coming across as a problem-solver with the US.
What happens now?
Prime Minister Najib Mikati may renew the negotiations, said Yeghia Tashjian, an Associate Fellow at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (AUB).
Speaking to Gulf News, Tashjian cited a new, positive atmosphere in the region, mirrored by Iranian-Saudi negotiations over Yemen, international nuclear talks with Iran, and the Arab Gas Pipeline that will bring Egyptian gas to Lebanon, hoping that this would prevent it from falling into Iran’s arms.
“My only concern is that Lebanon’s fragmented political landscape may torpedo the process of negotiations, and eventually, Israel would continue exploring and later extracting oil and gas from the disputed area,” Tashjian said.
What brought down the talks last May can still apply to any future negotiations, he added, saying: “Its questionable whether the new government would fully vote for amending the disputed territory and what the president’s position will be?”
My only concern is that Lebanon’s fragmented political landscape may torpedo the process, and eventually, Israel would continue exploring and extracting oil and gas from the disputed area.”
Yeghia Tashjian | Associate Fellow, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at AUB