President Joe Biden on Tuesday congratulated Prime Minister Yair Lapid for reaching a maritime border agreement with Lebanon, telling the Israeli premier he was “making history.”
Biden thanked the Israeli negotiating team, led by head of the National Security Council Eyal Hulata, and expressed his appreciation for their trust and confidence in the U.S.-mediated agreement, a readout from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.
“You’re making history,” Biden told Lapid on the phone, according to the readout.
Biden also noted attempts to secure the deal had failed for a decade. The failures, under the previous Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, were largely due to threats made by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group which effectively controls Lebanon’s political system. Netanyahu has been vocal about his opposition to the current deal, saying it constituted a surrender to Hezbollah.
Biden also emphasized his commitment to Israel’s security and regional stability, and said that the two leaders’ ability to work together on the maritime agreement was “a testament to the strong and unbreakable bond between the two leaders themselves and between Israel and the United States,” the readout said.
Lapid for his part thanked Biden and the U.S.’ energy envoy and mediator on the talks, Amos Hochstein, for an agreement that “will ensure Israel’s security on its northern border and strengthen the Israeli and Lebanese economies.”
Biden also congratulated Lebanese President Michael Aoun, and expressed his hope that the deal would result in the emergence of stronger, more stable Lebanon, which is suffering the worst economic crisis in its history.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lapid hailed the agreement as an “historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border.”
Aoun’s office said, “the final version of the offer satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands and preserves its rights to its natural resources.”
The deal will 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. The two countries, which are technically still at war, never demarcated maritime borders.
Hezbollah, the terror group that effectively controls Lebanese politics, has threatened war over Israel’s decision to develop the Karish 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.
A United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) vehicle drives on the coastal road to Naqura, the southernmost Lebanese town by the border with Israel, on October 3, 2022. (MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
The disputed area will be deemed Lebanese waters, according to Israeli sources, leading critics to slam the Lapid government for surrendering Israeli sovereign territory to an enemy state.
Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, said the deal effectively meant “Hezbollah now overrides Israel’s democracy.”
“Transferring any national territory requires Knesset approval in Israeli law, as well as the constitutions of countries from the U.S. to Egypt. The reason the government claims it must do this now, before elections or a Knesset vote, is that this is Hezbollah’s demand to prevent war,” he said.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the deal would strengthen Israel’s security.
“We have not and will not compromise on a single millimeter that is critical to our security,” he said. “We will continue protecting our security interests in any scenario and ensuring the security of the citizens of Israel.”
“Israel is interested in having a stable and prosperous Lebanese neighbor,” he added.