Amid the anticipation surrounding the maritime border demarcation file, and what will come out of the meeting of the technical committee tasked with studying the American proposal received by Lebanon, followed by a meeting of Presidents Michel Aoun, Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Baabda to discuss the proposal and sign it if there are no points that require reconsideration or amendment, technical sources following this file have excluded the possibility of the Lebanese side signing the American offer before the end of this week or early next week. "Any amendment to the American proposal requires reviewing with the mediator Amos Hochstein, which requires at least a week or more," the sources stated in a conversation with the electronic newspaper "Al-Anbaa."
The sources pointed out that "there are ambiguous points regarding the starting point of the demarcation process; while Israel insists on the dividing line between it and Lebanon, the Lebanese side maintains its stance that maritime demarcation is different from land demarcation, which makes line 23 entirely within Lebanese territorial waters." In this context, oil and gas expert Dr. Lori Haytian noted via "Al-Anbaa" that "this is the first time information about the demarcation has been issued more from the Israeli side than from the Lebanese side, possibly due to the Israeli elections approaching and exploiting the subject for campaign purposes, contrasted with a significant silence from the Lebanese side, which has yet to leak any information about this issue, while Israel discusses compensations and security guarantees in case gas is discovered in the Qana field. On the other hand, the Lebanese side, which is tight-lipped about the issue, claims that it has obtained everything from the starting point located on line 1."
Haytian added: "It seems that this point intersects with line 23, as these areas are close to each other, and this is a security demand for Israel because it does not want anything related to Lebanese land to become established." Politically, it is clear that the demarcation file and the developments related to it have advanced significantly compared to the government formation file, which may be delayed in birth. Political sources considered in a conversation with the electronic "Anbaa" that "the conciliatory speech of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who told the Lebanese that there may be a glimmer of hope coming this time from the depths of Lebanese territorial waters, indicates positive signs." However, they emphasized that "the extraction of gas and oil is linked to the Iranian nuclear file and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and gas; Lebanon cannot benefit from its oil and gas wealth before Iranian oil tankers roam the seas."
Thus, although everyone is certain that the signing of the border demarcation does not mean that gas and oil are now accessible to Lebanon and the Lebanese, everyone is waiting for this positive shift in hopes that it may reflect beneficial effects, albeit minimal, on the heavy crisis-laden lives of the people.
