Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Talks Postponed, Source Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Talks between Lebanon and Israel that were scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed until further notice, a Lebanese security source said.
Israel and Lebanon launched the negotiations in October with delegations convening at a UN base to try to resolve a dispute about the maritime border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area.
The Lebanese security source said the reason for the delay was Israel’s rejection of Lebanese proposals, Reuters reported.
Four rounds of talks have been held so far.
Lebanon is locked in a conflict with Israel over an area in the Mediterranean Sea spanning about 860 square kilometers, known as Zone No. 9, which is rich in oil and gas.
Unlike land borders between the two sides, the maritime frontiers have not seen any military clashes.
Lebanon fought off two Israeli wars in 2000 and 2006. On both occasions, battleground contribution by its Hezbollah resistance movement proved an indispensable asset, forcing the Israeli military into a retreat.
Lebanon and the occupying regime are technically at war since the latter has kept the Arab country’s Shebaa Farms under occupation since 1967.
Beirut eyes the issue of delineation of its southern border zone with great sensitivity both due to concerns of Israel’s expansionist attitude and given its plans to engage in oil and gas exploration in its share of the Mediterranean.
Lebanese officials have, time and again, stressed that the limited border talks do not signify “normalization” or “reconciliation” with the occupying regime.
It is aimed at distancing Beirut from a trend of normalization between some regional countries and Tel Aviv, which the United States has been setting the stage for.
