Lebanon, Israel clinch maritime border deal
Lebanon and Israel have reached a historic agreement demarcarting a disputed maritime border between them following years of US-mediated negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said yesterday.
While limited in scope, a deal would mark a significant compromise between states with a history of war and hostility, opening the way for offshore energy exploration and easing a source of recent tensions.
"This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border," Lapid said in a statement.
In Lebanon, President Michel Aoun said the terms of the final US proposal were satisfactory.
The agreement is meant to resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas. It sets a border between Lebanese and Israeli waters for the first time and also establishes a mechanism for both countries to get royalties from an offshore gas field that straddles the boundary.
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