Israeli soldiers enter their military base at Rosh Hanikra, known in Lebanon as Ras al-Naqura, at the border between the two countries, on Oct. 4, 2022. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
BEIRUT — Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the Israeli Defense Forces on Thursday to prepare for an "escalation" on the northern border with Lebanon after Israel rejected revisions, suggested by Beirut, to a proposal on contested maritime border delineation with Israel.
The IDF was asked to "prepare for a scenario of escalation in the north, both offensively and defensively," a statement from Gantz’s office said.
"Whether the agreement is signed or not, we are prepared to protect our infrastructure and our sovereignty," Gantz tweeted Thursday afternoon. "If Hezbollah seeks to harm them, the military price that the state of Lebanon and Hezbollah will pay will be very heavy. We are not reluctant to fight, but we are ready for it."
According to the the daily Haaretz, Israel based its rejection to the deal on two changes Lebanon is seeking to make to the draft agreement, which officials said were “significant” revisions.
The first seeks to change the exact definition of a five-kilometer border line that Israel previously demarcated with a line of buoys, which would get official recognition under the draft agreement. The draft refers to this line as the "status quo," and Lebanon wants the wording changed to "de facto."
“Using the term ‘de facto’ signifies that the dispute over this border line is not yet over,” a senior Israeli political official told Haaretz.
The daily added that "the second proposal opposed by Israel involves the Lebanese government’s role in the Qana gas field operations. Under the draft’s terms, Israel would deal exclusively with the company operating the field, not with Lebanon’s government."
On Wednesday, Lebanon submitted to the United States a list of revisions to the maritime border draft deal with Israel, but the latter rejected them. Following the rejection, Lebanon said the deal was at a "make or break" point.
The draft text is the result of drawn-out indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel mediated by US envoy Amos Hochstein. The American diplomat has shuttled between Lebanon and Israel since 2020 to seal a deal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration and defuse a potential source of conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group, Hezbollah.