Meanwhile, there is optimism in Lebanon from the recent Israeli proposal regarding the demarcation of the maritime border
After a meeting with American mediator Amos Hochstein several days ago, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib noted that enormous progress has been made in negotiations.
The Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, also noted that the atmosphere at the last meeting was positive and that everyone left it pleased.
According to Al Jazeera, the new Israeli proposal Hochstein brought with him is based on point 23 (see attached map). Israel will give up its demands regarding the “Qana” natural gas field (which crosses the line made by point 23) in exchange for some territorial concessions north of the line made by point 23.
An in-depth explanation: At the beginning of negotiations, Israel demanded the entire area south of the point 1 line, and Lebanon demanded the area north of the point 23 line.
At some point, the Lebanese put forward a new demand (which angered the American mediators), claiming the area north of the line made by point 29, including parts of the Israeli “Karish” natural gas field. Lebanon was likely trying to improve its position in negotiations with this new claim.
If Al-Jazeera’s reports are indeed correct, then the agreement based on point 23 (along with the entire “Qana” natural gas field) is essentially the original Lebanese demand. In that case, one can argue that the Lebanese negotiation trick of demanding point 29 did its thing.
