Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Lebanon-Israel Demarcation Talks End, 2nd Round to Kick off


Wed 14 Oct 2020 | 01:14 PM
Nawal Sayed

The opening session of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to demarcate the maritime border between the two countries at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, in the south of the country, ended on Wednesday.

A second meeting was scheduled for October 28, according to Lebanese military sources.

The first meeting lasted no more than an hour, punctuated by the words of the United Nations Coordinator in Lebanon Jan Kubisch, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, the head of the Lebanese delegation, Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, and the head of the Israeli delegation.

The meeting was held in complete secrecy and away from the media, which were not allowed to approach the hall, as the meeting was held under the auspices of the United Nations and American mediation.

The Lebanese delegation objected to taking a memorial photo of the meeting.

Lebanon stresses that these negotiations are indirect. They are purely technical and technical. They are limited to the issue of demarcating the borders between the two countries and have nothing to do with any relations with Israel.

Both Hezbollah and the Amal movement objected to the formation of the negotiating delegation because it includes civilians and is not limited to the military.

On its part, the Lebanese presidency announced Tuesday that face-to-face negotiations with Israel are not about an international treaty, normalization, or recognition of Israel.

Israeli officials said it was likely that an agreement would be reached on demarcating the maritime borders within weeks or months if the representatives of Lebanon arrived in a positive and practical approach.

It is noteworthy that the dispute with Israel is focused on 964 square kilometers in territorial waters and 13 land points.