(Arab News-Saudi Arabia) Khaled Abou Zahr - The disputed gas field in the Mediterranean is symbolic of the domination and occupation of Lebanon by Hizbullah and the Iranian regime. Since 2010, Lebanon has never accepted any of the proposals for solving the maritime dispute. Represented by President Michel Aoun, it kept switching between maximalist positions and silence. A decade ago, the U.S. mediation offered a demarcation that gave 55% of the disputed area to Lebanon and 45% to Israel. Beirut did not accept it. And, when negotiations took place again in 2020, Lebanon claimed a larger part of the territory to the south, reaching close to 900 km. If Beirut today accepts the first U.S.-proposed demarcation or even its latest position, which claims an extra 370 km. to the south, then the Karish field where the new Israeli drilling rig has arrived falls in the Israeli part. The writer is editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi (France).
2022-06-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive