Steinitz said that it seems Aoun is not aware of all the facts of how Lebanon has repeatedly changed its positions over the past 15 years.Steinitz explained in Arabic that Lebanon has submitted seven different maritime lines to the UN, UNIFIL and the IDF, as well as in the latest round of talks in Naqoura.“Contrary to what the Lebanese government did, I instructed the Israeli delegation to act responsibly and adhere to the sea line that Israel deposited in the United Nations nearly ten years ago,” he said. “I also instructed our delegation to adopt a pragmatic approach in the talks in an attempt to ease and resolve the dispute, in order to provide the welfare of the Lebanese and Israeli citizens.”Lebanese negotiators have sought more maritime territory than the 860 sq. km. triangle that had been under dispute with Israel for more than a decade, and their new demands encroach into Israeli gas fields.The disputed area starts from the countries’ border on the Mediterranean Sea, and is 5 to 6 km. wide on average. The area would be about 2% of Israel’s economic waters.The Energy Ministry has said that each year that has passed has meant a loss of billions of dollars for each side. Lebanon, however, has more to gain, since it imports billions of dollars of oil, diesel and liquid gas each year, while Israel no longer imports energy sources and uses its own natural gas, and even exports some.מכובדי נשיא לבנון @General_Aoun . ראשית, למרות מצב היחסים בין מדינותינו ברצוני לאחל לעם בלבנון לא רק חג עצמאות שמח, אלא גם התאוששות מהירה מהמשבר שפוקד אתכם. שנית, אני שמח לבשר לך, שאני דווקא די נהנה מהדיאלוג שהתפתח בינינו בטוויטר בימים האחרונים באשר למו"מ על הגבול הימי.
— Yuval Steinitz יובל שטייניץ (@steinitz_yuval) November 23, 2020
Steinitz to Lebanese president: Let’s negotiate maritime border
The invitation came in light of Lebanon increasing its demands for more maritime territory than had previously been part of the negotiations with Israel.
