The newspaper "Al-Akhbar" reported: It is not a coincidence that in the midst of the turmoil the world is experiencing due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the United States signals its continued interest in the maritime border demarcation issue between Lebanon and the occupied territories of Palestine. The public uproar surrounding the issue, along with the "mess" in its secret management for reasons that cannot be concealed and the preoccupation of everyone with the dangers of war in Eastern Europe, suggested the possibility of freezing the issue for the time being. However, the message delivered by U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea to President Michel Aoun, which included a written offer translating the oral proposal from the chief U.S. negotiator Amos Hochstein, based on Lebanon's request, temporarily dispelled these questions.
This step, according to sources involved in the file, is "a message that confirms, in form before content, that the Americans are continuing the negotiation process." This is further evidenced by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland's reference to the issue during a recent call with Aoun, knowing that the Americans substituted this message for Hochstein's planned visit to Beirut soon. The sources confirmed that "the recent escalation regarding the demarcation file and lines 23 and 29, as well as discussions about suspicious deals that would lead Lebanon to relinquish part of its oil wealth," along with the recent position of the head of the "Loyalty to the Resistance" bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, all contributed to postponing the visit and delivering the message as a form of "sensing the pulse." If Lebanon responds positively, the U.S. mediator will set a new date for the visit; otherwise, he "won't waste his time."
The sources emphasized that what Hochstein wants is "a final answer to the offer that proposes Lebanon obtains line 23 distorted." What does this mean? It means that Lebanon's share of line 23 would incline upward at blocks 8 and 10, making them, along with the outer part of the Qana field with the Israeli enemy," in addition to another offer that entails the company "Total" from the Lebanese side and "Halliburton" from the other side managing the joint fields, with work on the border under Qatari sponsorship.
According to insiders familiar with the communications atmosphere, "the Americans insist that block number 8 belongs to the Israeli enemy without clarifying the reasons," likely suggesting that "the enemy has conducted surveys showing a large amount of wealth in it, or that it wants to ensure that the Karish field is not affected, and that this block would serve as a corridor for the gas line extending from Israel to Cyprus, reaching Turkey."
Sources in Baabda stated that "the message is a stage in the negotiation process, documenting only the minutes of the meetings held by the U.S. mediator during his recent visit,” indicating that “there are no final conclusions from the Lebanese side and that the offer is still under review by the three presidents.”
