Israel and Lebanon are close to striking a US-brokered deal on maritime borders that would allow Israel to export gas to Europe and mark a rare instance of economic co-operation between the neighbouring countries.
The current draft of the deal gives Israel full control of the disputed Karish gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Israeli and Lebanese officials. The Qana gas field farther north would be in Lebanon’s control, but Israel would maintain a stake in the gas located in its territory, the officials said. Both countries have signalled that they will accept the draft agreement delivered to them last week after some final negotiations and due diligence.
The deal, which has been in the works for a decade, would allow Israel to quickly follow through on its commitment to sell gas to the EU, which is searching for new energy sources following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Moscow.
The State Department’s energy envoy Amos Hochstein has been shuttling back and forth between Beirut and Jerusalem in recent months to close the agreement, which became more time sensitive after a gas rig arrived at the Karish field in the spring.
The deal also marks a diplomatic achievement for Israel by securing international recognition of its maritime security border with Lebanon and could act as deterrence against another war, Israeli officials say. Israel and Lebanon have fought two major wars and don’t have diplomatic relations.
Read the article by Dov Lieber and Aaron Boxerman in The Australian (from The Wall Street Journal).