The issue of maritime border demarcation continues to dominate the Lebanese scene, amid blatant official failures that are merely a necessary outcome of all the evasion surrounding the discussions on Lebanon's entitlement to line 23 or 29. What is needed is an agreement on any formula that allows Lebanon to benefit from this national wealth, which is critically needed, especially given the exceptional circumstances the country is experiencing. The responsibility-shifting and the bidding contests have begun, even from those who advocated for line 29 yet failed to take the simplest steps to secure it, such as President Michel Aoun's refusal to sign the necessary decree to preserve Lebanon's rights.
In this context, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, described the situation in his own way, saying: "The fictitious offers have started, and the bidding has ignited. In the fictitious offers, there is an ambiguous project for investment in the electricity sector before completing essential and necessary reforms. As for the bidding, it is in maritime demarcation, where, by some enchanting magic, the major change and sovereignty forces have succumbed to the resisting parties."
Expert in oil, gas, and disputed borders, Dr. Lori Haitayan, clarified that Israel has never declared that "Karish" is a disputed area and not part of line 29, while line 23 represents the Lebanese borders according to the United Nations and official Lebanese correspondence. Haitayan pointed out in a discussion with the electronic summit "An-Nabaa" that the Lebanese government was aware of what Israel was doing and that it had agreed with the company "Energean" to explore for gas without taking any action until the Israeli ship arrived. Unfortunately, the government did not make the required decisions. It's clear that Presidents Aoun and Najib Mikati sent for the American mediator Hochstein, and my assessment is that he will do nothing because he previously informed Lebanese officials that line 23 is the dividing line between Lebanon and Israel, and nothing has changed. Lebanon is forced to share an area of 860 square kilometers with Israel, and no one is helping Lebanon resolve this dispute except the United States. Thus, Lebanon is faced with a new reality that compels it to awaken from its deep slumber. It must either accept American mediation, and if it insists on line 29, it must immediately amend decree 6433. Otherwise, remaining "this way and that way" will yield no results.
Meanwhile, MP Imad al-Hout, in a conversation with "An-Nabaa," perceived that President Aoun's delay in signing decree 6433 in accordance with line 29 and officially notifying the United Nations carries full responsibility for the Israeli enemy's audacity against our waters and oil, and for the unjustified concession of Lebanon's rights. MP Adeeb Abdul-Masih called for the immediate issuance of decree 6433 and sending a copy of it to the United Nations to file a complaint regarding the issue of infringement and to invite the Security Council to address what this step represents as an attack on Lebanon’s sovereignty, along with filing a legal action with the Ministry of Energy and the urgent matters judge and the public prosecution against the ship and the operating company, appointing a law firm to follow up on this case, stopping operations immediately, and having the ship leave Lebanese territorial waters.
Concurrently, ambiguity and vagueness are the dominant traits of the session to elect parliamentary committees and their rapporteurs today, in the absence of the settlements and agreements that had previously taken place. The scene today is entirely different, as no team has a majority. Following sources disclosed in a contact with "An-Nabaa" that Speaker Nabih Berri is leading an effort to divide the six committees equally between the sovereign and resisting teams, with the share of the reformists and independents coming from the sovereign team, while the Administration and Justice Committee will remain with the Strong Republic bloc, the Health Committee to the Democratic Gathering, and the Environment Committee will go to the reformist and independent MPs. In contrast, the Finance and Budget Committee will remain with the Strong Lebanon bloc, Agriculture with the Development and Liberation bloc, and Public Works with Hezbollah.
The sources observed that if they fail to reach an agreement on this solution, Berri will resort to voting as he did in the election of the Vice President and the Secretariat of the Bureau. Regarding the position of the reformist and independent MPs, Abdul-Masih stated in a conversation with "An-Nabaa" that he, as a mechanical and electrical engineer, will participate in the Public Works and Agriculture committees, discussing agreements on committee memberships, noting there will not be problems regarding the heads and rapporteurs. For his part, al-Hout confirmed his participation in the committee elections according to what serves the national interest, emphasizing that work is what is required, nothing else.
Regardless of the current scene in the Nejmeh Square, all eyes will now turn to the Baabda Palace and the decision to call for binding parliamentary consultations and what scene the events will paint for Lebanon in the coming weeks.
