The first round was held at the headquarters of the UNIFIL forces in the Lebanese village of Naqoura, close to the Blue Line, and it has two entrances to Israeli territory, from which the Israeli delegation entered, and a second entrance was designated to enter the Lebanese side from the Naqoura side.
An international source revealed to Al-Jazeera Net that the first round was to lay the foundations for the dialogue that will actually start from the second round, which was set on the 26th of this month, as the Lebanese presidency said, after the head of the negotiating delegation, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, briefed her on the facts of the first round.
Sea animal hair
In his speech during the first session, Yassin said that these negotiations are supposed to lead to the demarcation of the southern borders of Lebanon hosted by the United Nations, under its banner, and with the facilitation of the United States of America.
He added that the meeting “will trigger the whistle of the indirect technical negotiation train”, hoping that “the wheel of negotiation will proceed at a pace that enables us to complete this file within a reasonable time limit.”
He stressed that the Lebanese delegation came to negotiate the demarcation of its maritime borders on the basis of international law, the armistice agreement in 1949 documented by the United Nations departments, and the “Paulet-Newcombe” agreement in 1923, specifically regarding what this agreement stipulated about the line that starts From Ras Naqoura point by road.
The head of the Lebanese delegation expressed his hope that the other parties “would fulfill their obligations based on fulfilling the requirements of international law and maintaining the confidentiality of the deliberations.”
Yassin said, “The confirmation of the minutes and discussions of the indirect technical negotiation meetings, as well as the final version of the demarcation, will take place after approval by the competent Lebanese political authorities.”
Chronic conflict
The technical negotiations between Lebanon and Israel aim to demarcate the borders in the disputed area at sea. Lebanon says that this area includes 850 square kilometers within the area that Tel Aviv considers its exclusive economic zone, while Israel claims about 860 square kilometers in Lebanon’s economic zone.
Beirut stresses the importance of the coexistence of the sea and land tracks in demarcating the borders, and the Lebanese vision is divided into two paths, one of which is the demarcation of the maritime borders with American mediation and under the auspices of the United Nations, while the second track is related to the demarcation of the land borders, provided that this is done within the framework of the tripartite committee (Lebanon / Israel / United Nations) The United Nations, which has been meeting for years under the supervision of UNIFIL.
Obsessed with Israel
The military expert, retired Brigadier General Elias Farhat, told Al-Jazeera Net that there is a dispute over the water surface between point B1 (B1) at Ras al-Naqoura and point (23) that Cyprus and Israel adopt in the sea.
He explained to Al-Jazeera Net, that Lebanon wants to resolve the controversy over “B1” by land, so that the matter will be finalized on the demarcation of the sea line. Farhat stresses the importance of the coexistence of land and sea demarcation, expressing his fear that Israel will not abide by the framework of the agreement for the technical negotiations on the demarcation of the borders.
The underlying dispute
For his part, the expert in international law, Lawyer Paul Morcos, believes that the conflict with Israel is related to the land point from which the maritime demarcation will start, expressing his fear of “the Israeli greed for maritime demarcation according to its logic in order to inflict heavy losses on Lebanon and his right to invest its oil wealth.”
He adds to Al-Jazeera Net that “the Agreement on the Law of the Sea, and if Israel did not sign it, it defines the rules of maritime borders.” He believes that Lebanon hopes that the maritime borders will be drawn according to his vision, and that it will not be at his expense. “This is what reassures oil companies for exploration, especially since we count on extracting gas or oil by sea to reduce the country’s public indebtedness, pay off debts, and stop the financial collapse.”
Duration the negotiations
And the technical negotiations that began between the two arch-enemies, is there a period of time for them? A political observer in Beirut, preferring to remain anonymous, says that Lebanon wanted to set a timetable for these negotiations that would not exceed 6 months. He adds that this item has fallen out of the negotiating framework agreement, and “therefore there are no time limits for the path of this negotiation, which will be long, and may have no horizon or significant results.”
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