Biden Admin Charged with Pressuring Israel to Surrender to Hezbollah over Maritime Dispute

The Biden administration has been accused of pressuring Israel to concede to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group’s demands in resolving a maritime border dispute between Israel and its neighboring state Lebanon.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) accused the White House of urging Israel to give up territory.

“I am deeply troubled that Biden officials pressured our Israeli allies to hand over their territory to the Iran-controlled terrorist group Hezbollah,” he tweeted. “Another topic for the next Republican Congress to investigate.”

Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, Israel, UK, and other western states, has overwhelming power within the Lebanese government, which is viewed as an Iranian puppet government.

Former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, also slammed the emerging deal brokered by the U.S.

“We spent years trying to broker a deal between Israel and Lebanon on the disputed maritime gas fields,” tweeted Monday. “Got very close with proposed splits of 55-60% for Lebanon and 45-40% for Israel. No one then imagined 100% to Lebanon and 0% to Israel. Would love to understand how we got here.”

Tony Badran, a Hezbollah and Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), asserted that “the Biden administration has made it its mission to throw whatever money and resources it can muster in order to prop up and stabilize the Hezbollah-controlled order in Lebanon.”

On Saturday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced that a U.S. proposal for the demarcation of a maritime border with Israel was forthcoming. Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah later in the day said that Lebanon would be the ultimate decision-maker in the agreement.

Lapid lauded the nascent proposal for “safeguarding Israel’s security-diplomatic interests, as well as its economic interests.”

“Money will flow into the state’s coffers and our energy independence will be secured. This deal strengthens Israel’s security and Israel’s economy,” Lapid said.

“We do not oppose the development of an additional Lebanese gas field, from which we will of course receive the share we deserve. Such a field will weaken Lebanon’s dependence on Iran, restrain Hezbollah and promote regional stability,” he went on.

The proposal, drafted by mediator and former U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Amos Hochstein, would allow energy production from the offshore Karish gas field, which is the crux of the dispute between the two nations. While Israel maintains that the gas field is within its territorial waters, Lebanon claims it’s partially within theirs.

Hezbollah, the terror group that effectively controls Lebanese politics, has threatened war over Israel’s decision to develop the Karish gas field and has attacked the rig twice in recent months. The Israeli military has intercepted several Hezbollah drones headed for the rig in over the summer.

Critics in Israel have slammed the deal as a capitulation to Hezbollah.

“Lapid shamefully surrendered to Nasrallah’s threats,” former prime minister and leader of the opposition Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. “He is giving Hezbollah sovereign territory of the State of Israel with a huge gas reservoir.”

“He did it without discussion in the Knesset and without a referendum. Lapid has no right to hand over territory and sovereign revenues to an enemy state,” he added.

A national referendum must be held before the government gives up any of sovereign territory, according to Israeli law.

Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, told Breitbart the deal was a last ditch attempt by Lapid to gather points ahead of Israel’s upcoming election next month.

According to Kontorovich, the Lapid caretaker government was “surrendering to Hezbollah and Iran at the request of the Biden Administration” and “making permanent sacrifices just weeks before a general election.”

Pointing to the protests sweeping Iran, Kotorovich said: “As the people of Iran fight for their freedom, Israel is surrendering to Tehran via Beirut without even getting an acknowledgement of its existence in return, let alone peace.”