Lapid: Israel has tried for more than ten years to reach this deal with Lebanon (Getty)
The response of the Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapidin the weekly government session, on the accusations leveled once morest him by the Israeli opposition, represented by the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahuregarding demarcation The maritime border with Lebanonby saying that the proposed agreement, according to the American mediator, preserves “all Israeli security and political interests, as well as economic interests.”
Lapid added, during the Israeli government session, today, Sunday, that “Israel has tried for more than ten years to reach this deal that enhances Israeli security and the Israeli economy.”
For his part, the Minister of Justice in the Israeli government, Gideon Sa’ar, announced, on Sunday, that there is no relationship between the crystallized agreement and the start of operations to extract Israeli gas from the Karish platform, which is located within the Israeli borders, and will remain so,” according to his claim.
These statements came in light of the attack launched by the Israeli opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the agreement, which announced that Lebanon and Israel had received a draft from the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, on Saturday.
Netanyahu says that the current caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, has made concessions to Lebanon, and that he has shown weakness in the face of threats. Hizb allah. It seems that the right opposing Lapid is using the currently crystallized agreement in the electoral battle, by recruiting right-wing Israeli associations and organizations from civil society.
On Sunday followingnoon, Netanyahu returned to attacking the currently crystallized agreement to demarcate the maritime border with Lebanon, claiming that Lapid had succumbed to Nasrallah’s threats, and that he granted “Hezbollah” lands belonging to Israeli sovereignty and Israeli gas. Netanyahu threatened that the agreement would not be binding on his government following the elections, and that it would return everything that Lapid had ceded to Lebanon through the agreement.
In this context, the newspaper “Israel Hayom” revealed, on Sunday morning, that two legal associations, “Kohelet” and “Lavi”, sent letters last week to Israeli Prime Minister Lapid, challenging the authority of the current transitional government (the caretaker government) to sign An agreement that may have affected the shape and demarcation of Israel’s land and sea borders.
The two groups demanded that Prime Minister Lapid abide by the provisions of the Public Referendum Law, which obliges any government in Israel to present any agreement involving “territorial concessions” to the Knesset and hold a public referendum before its approval.
The Israeli Knesset passed a referendum law in March 2014 by 68 votes, which requires a referendum on any peace agreement or settlement that involves an Israeli withdrawal from any occupied territories.
This move came with the aim of depriving Lapid of displaying a diplomatic and political achievement during the electoral battle, in light of news confirming the imminence of reaching an agreement to demarcate the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon.
It is officially scheduled, as announced, according to the Israeli media, that the political and security cabinet of the occupying power will meet next Thursday to decide on the proposal submitted by the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, to both Israel and Lebanon.
