Report: Israel to offer Lebanon an unacceptable proposal

Israel’s Channel 12 has leaked what it called the “emerging agreement” with Lebanon over the demarcation of the maritime border.

Lebanon’s pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar meanwhile reported that the Israeli proposal is “full of landmines” that the Lebanese side “cannot accept.”

“The Israeli declaration is aimed at exploring the reaction of the other side and it will be officially raised by U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who is expected to visit Lebanon in the next few days,” al-Akhbar said.

A senior Lebanese source involved in the negotiations meanwhile told the daily that Lebanon is likely “not concerned with such a solution.”

“This is part of the analyses in the media… Lebanon is awaiting a written response that will be carried by the U.S. mediator soon,” the source said, adding that Hochstein “might call off his visit if he finds out that the atmosphere is negative in Lebanon.”

According to the Israeli report, the “agreement” calls for Israel to keep the entirety of the Karish offshore gas field in return for Lebanon having “the entire disputed area, including the Qana field, which extends into the Israeli exclusive economic zone.”

But Lebanon “will have to pay Israel financial compensations as a price for the overlapping area, which amounts to a third of the Qana field,” the report says, noting that this point “enjoys the approval of the Lebanese government.”

The “agreement” also stipulates that “the company that will work on both sides of the economic borders that will be agreed on will be the Israeli firm Energean, which also has a Greek nationality.”

“This article represents a guarantee for Israel that Hezbollah would not harm the Israeli platforms, seeing as the identity and affiliation of the driller and the production ship will be the same, which is the Energean company, and any harm here will be a harm there and vice versa,” al-Akhbar said.

“The report says that this would create a balance of deterrence: a platform for a platform, which means preventing attack attempts on the Israeli platform," the daily added.

Al-Akhbar also said that the coming weeks are expected to witness a warning action by Hezbollah against Israel unless Hochstein “gives up his suspicious procrastination.”

“This does not eliminate escalation possibilities on the (gas) extraction date that has been called off (by Israel), or September 1, especially that the emerging agreement as reported in Tel Aviv is not an agreement,” the daily added.