#karish

Lebanon claims maritime border talks in ‘final stages’ as Israel scrambles to pacify Hezbollah
Israeli military commanders are reportedly troubled about the warnings issued by the Lebanese resistance group
By News Desk - September 19 2022
▻https://thecradle.co/Article/news/15863

https://media.thecradle.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Israel-Navy-ship-next-to-offshore-gas-rig-2000x1125-1.jpg

Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Aoun revealed on 19 September that US-mediated negotiations to demarcate the maritime border with Israel are in their “final stages.”

“Negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime borders are in their final stages, in a way that guarantees Lebanon’s rights to explore for gas and oil,” Aoun tweeted on Monday after meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka.

US-mediated talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv for control of a proven natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea restarted in June, after Israel deployed production and extraction vessels to the Karish field located in disputed territory.

Last week, Lebanon received a set of coordinates from US mediator Amos Hochstein, which would establish line 23 as the maritime border, giving Israel complete control of Karish. In exchange, Lebanon would be allowed control of the prospect Qana gas field.

Aoun’s claims on Monday came just days after Israel revealed plans to connect the Karish gas rig to the country’s pipeline network, allegedly in order to “test the drilling rig, and the systems for pumping gas from the platform to the network.”

According to Hebrew media reports over the weekend, following the release of this statement by the Israeli energy ministry, the military high command scrambled to make sure a clarification was issued, highlighting that the test is “not about extracting gas.”

“Some parties believed that this clarification should not be given in the matter of natural gas extraction, but parties in the army requested that this clarification be issued in order to avoid tensions with Hezbollah,” Channel 13 political affairs correspondent Moriah Wahlberg said on Friday.

#Liban #Karish

Lebanon warns against any Israeli ’aggression’ in disputed waters | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-warns-against-any-israeli-aggression-disputed-waters-2022-06-05

Lebanon warned Israel on Sunday against any “aggressive action” in disputed waters where both states hope to develop offshore energy, after a ship arrived off the coast to produce gas for Israel.

President Michel Aoun said any activity in the disputed area would amount to an act of aggression and a provocation, after the arrival of the vessel operated by London-based Energean.

Israel says the field in question is within its exclusive economic zone, not in disputed waters.

But in a statement, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun discussed with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati the vessel’s entry “into the disputed maritime area with Israel, and asked the Army Command to provide him with accurate and official data to build upon the matter”.

Aoun said negotiations to delineate the southern maritime border continued and “any action or activity in the disputed area represents a provocation and an aggressive action”.

There was no immediate response from Israel to Aoun’s statement. Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar welcomed the vessel’s arrival and said she hoped it would be brought online quickly.

“We will continue to work to diversify the energy market and maintain stability and reliability,” she said.

"EXTREMELY DANGEROUS"
Energean said its floating production storage and offloading vessel arrived on Sunday at the Karish field, about 80 km (50 miles) west of the city of Haifa, in Israel’s exclusive economic zone. The company said it planned to bring it online in the third quarter.

Mikati said Israel was “encroaching on Lebanon’s maritime wealth, and imposing a fait accompli in a disputed area”, calling this “extremely dangerous”.

The United States began mediating indirect talks between the sides in 2000 to settle a long-running dispute that has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Lebanon is home to the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has fought numerous wars with Israel.

Hezbollah has previously warned Israel against drilling in the disputed area until the issue is resolved, and said the group would take action if it did so.

Lebanon says its border cuts into the sea at an angle farther south and Israel’s claim runs farther north, creating a triangle of disputed waters.

Last year, Beirut expanded its claim by around 1,400 square km (540 square miles), enlarging the area disputed with Israel.

Lebanon has yet to respond to an undisclosed proposal a U.S. envoy made early this year to revive the stalled talks.

Senior Lebanese security official Major General Abbas Ibrahim said in an interview published last week following his trip to Washington that Beirut’s response would open the door for a return to those talks and that the United States was keen to “turn the page” on an issue that could blow up.