Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati confirmed that the file of demarcating the maritime borders with Israel is on the right track, while the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Energy arrived in Paris to discuss with Total about a gas tank at the Qana platform.
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said Monday that things are on the right track in the file of demarcating the maritime border with Israel.
Mikati's speech came to reporters after the tripartite meeting between Presidents Michel Aoun, Representatives Nabih Berri and the government, Najib Mikati, at the presidential palace east of Beirut, to discuss the US offer of the maritime border demarcation agreement with Israel.
The Lebanese Prime Minister said: "President Berri and I had some remarks, and the technical committee took them fully, and we will have a response that will be sent to the American mediator within this entire context."
He continued, "I would like to emphasize that all the postulates and basic matters are fully within the agreement, and things are on the right track, and I assure that our position is unified in the interest of Lebanon."
For his part, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told reporters as he was leaving: "The position is one and united."
In turn, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab announced in the press conference that "tomorrow (Tuesday) at the latest will be the Lebanese response to the American mediator's draft, and we hope to get the final answer from it before the end of this week."
Bou Saab, who is assigned by President Aoun to follow up the demarcation file with the American side, said that Lebanon had obtained its full rights in the Qana field, and I will not say more.
He added, "Today we are not giving an official answer to Huxten, but rather observations, and the devils in the details are getting very small."
He continued, "We are proud that our position from the beginning was unified, and this is what led us to this conclusion, and the technical team unified the observations to be submitted to the American mediator soon."
Regarding the Qana field, Bou Saab said that "Lebanon has obtained all its rights in the Qana field," explaining that it will not sign an agreement or treaty with the Israeli enemy.
Israeli move
In a related context, an Israeli official arrived Monday in the French capital, Paris, in preparation for the upcoming agreement with Lebanon.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said, "The Director General of the Ministry of Energy has arrived in Paris to discuss with Total, which is expected to build the Lebanese rig, about an additional agreement that will regulate the compensation that Israel will receive in the event of a gas tank discovery at the Qana platform."
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that, according to the American offer, "Israel will retain full sovereignty over the Karish gas field."
While the opposite Qana field will be under Lebanese control, and Israel will receive from the French energy company "Total" revenues from the field located within its borders, according to the offer.
The Cabinet will discuss Thursday the American offer, which the Israeli government is moving toward, according to statements by Israeli officials.
The American mediator presented a compromise proposal to Israel and Lebanon after several visits and contacts with the two countries during the past months.
Lebanon and Israel are quarreling over a sea rich in oil and gas in the Mediterranean, with an area of 860 square kilometers, and the United States is mediating indirect negotiations between them to settle the dispute and demarcate the border.
In October 2020, indirect negotiations began between Beirut and Tel Aviv, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the aim of demarcating the borders, and five rounds were held, the last of which was in May 2021, then stopped as a result of fundamental differences.
Israel demolishes the Palestinian village of Al-Araqib for the 207th time, and the people: We will rebuild it
On Monday, the Israeli authorities demolished the Palestinian village of Al-Araqib for the 207th time in a row, while the residents stressed that they would rebuild their village.
On Monday, the Israeli authorities demolished the Arab village of Al-Araqib, located in the Negev region (south) for the 207th time in a row.
In a statement, Aziz Al-Turi, a member of the Local Committee for the Defense of Al-Araqib (a civil society), said: "The Israeli forces stormed the village of Al-Araqib and demolished its homes for the 207th time."
Al-Touri reiterated that the people will rebuild their village.
The Israeli authorities demolished the village's homes for the last time last month.
Al-Araqib houses are built of wood, plastic and tin, and are inhabited by 22 families.
The Israeli authorities demolished the village for the first time, in July 2010, and since then they have demolished it every time residents rebuild it.
The Israeli government does not recognize the village of Al-Araqib, but its residents insist on remaining on their land despite the repeated demolition of it.
In a previous report, the Zochrot organization, which includes Israeli activists (Jews and Arabs) and chronicles the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, said that Al-Araqib was built for the first time during the Ottoman rule on lands bought by residents.
The organization stated that the authorities are working to expel the residents of the village, with the aim of controlling their lands, noting that Israel does not recognize dozens of other villages in the Negev region, and refuses to provide any services to them.