Israeli 'Defense Minister' Benny Gantz. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Jerusalem is keen to make a deal with Lebanon regarding the maritime border dispute in a meeting with United Nations diplomats on Monday.
“The state of Israel is interested in progressing maritime border negotiations with Lebanon,” Gantz said. “In the end, there will be two gas rigs, one Israeli and one Lebanese. The question is whether we can reach this scenario without an unnecessary escalation as a result of Hezbollah threats.”
“Establishing a rig on the Lebanese side is in the interest of Lebanon, whose residents do not have a regular electricity supply and are experiencing a devastating economic crisis,” he said, explaining that Israel will also “capitalize on its resources.”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in July that war with Israel is “not inevitable,” following recent repeated threats of war from Hezbollah and Israel at a time when the dispute over the delineation of the maritime border between both countries is in full swing following the arrival of a floating unit in the Karish field.
Gantz warned that Israel would not tolerate any threat by Nasrallah to its security and called on the Security Council to condemn any violation of Israeli sovereignty by the group.
“We must advance the negotiations, strengthen the stability and prosperity in the region and prevent an escalation that will first of all harm the citizens of Lebanon and the Lebanese state, and bring us back to the start."
On June 5, Israel deployed a floating production, storage and offloading vessel to the disputed Karish offshore gas field, causing tensions with the Lebanese side.
The US envoy Amos Hochstein, who supervises the indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over their common maritime border, came to Lebanon on Friday and met with President Michel Aoun in Baabda, as well as with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab and the Director of General Security Abbas Ibrahim.
Prior to Hochstein’s visit, Deputy Parliament Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Hochstein's upcoming visit will “not bring a definitive solution” but would provide “another positive step towards one.”
“Things are going in the right direction and we should remain hopeful that this file will end soon," said Bou Saab.
Last Wednesday, Washington said a “lasting compromise is possible” and that the issue is a “key priority” for the Biden administration.