Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that differences with Lebanon over offshore gas maps will be resolved with American mediation.
This came in statements he made at a meeting of the parliamentary bloc of the “Azuk-and-White” party headed by him, once morest the backdrop of Lebanese anger over Israel’s movements in a disputed sea area between the two countries.
According to the Hebrew economic website, The Marker, Gantz said, “The gas exploration platform in the Karis field arrived on Saturday to its location in the Israeli maritime space – in an undisputed area.”
He added, “This is a civilian issue, and the defense establishment has no role other than securing the platform and its surroundings.”
Gantz indicated that “everything related to the conflict zone will be resolved within the framework of negotiations mediated by the United States.”
He considered that “Lebanon has a great interest in pushing for an agreement (with Israel regarding the disputed maritime area) that will also allow it to work on developing gas fields.”
And Hezbollah had previously warned of the consequences of the Israeli move in the disputed waters, following the arrival of the platform belonging to the “Energy” company from Singapore to its site in the “Karis” field, which is a point of contention with Lebanon.
And between Lebanon and Israel a disputed area of 860 square kilometers, according to maps deposited by Lebanon and Israel with the United Nations, and this region is rich in oil and gas.
For this purpose, indirect negotiations between the two sides were launched in October 2020, under the auspices of the United Nations and American mediation, and 5 rounds of negotiations were held, the last of which was in May 2021.
During one of the talks, the Beirut delegation presented a new map pushing for an additional 1,430 km of Lebanon, indicating that the disputed area is 2,290 km, which was rejected by Israel and led to a halt in the negotiations.
