Israel and Lebanon Discuss their Gas-rich Maritime Boundary

Photograph of Israel and Lebanon maritime borders, which are currently under dispute (Wikipedia)

Six people from Israel and four from Lebanon gathered for sixty minutes on October 14 just over the Lebanses border, at Naqoura, to negotiate their disputed sea boundary. The boundary in question is a sliver of sea that geologists say has strong prospects for commercial gas. The event, part of a series of U.S.-pushed diplomatic openings between Israel and Arab states, was strictly technical. Both sides say it has nothing to do with peace-making or diplomacy. Indeed, the indirect nature of the talks meant both delegations spoke only through UN and U.S. mediators. They emerged promising only to meet again on October 28. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war and this was the first time in thirty years that they have met to discuss civilian issues.

At the heart of the issue is an 860 square kilometre strip within Blocks 8/9 of a hydrocarbon concession that Lebanon wants to explore with a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek. It is part of the same Levantine Basin that includes Israel’s major gas fields, Tamar and Leviathan, whose 28 trillion cubic feet of gas make Israel nearly self-sufficient in energy. In 2011, Israel and Cyprus signed a maritime border agreement which referred to a border map agreed in 2007 between Lebanon and Cyprus but which was never approved by Lebanon’s parliament. Israel placed buoys placed in the sea to mark that boundary but they aren’t recognized by Lebanon or the UN. Proposals sponsored by the U.S. in the past have offered 60 percent of the disputed area to Lebanon but were rejected. As put by Israel’s Energy Minister, Yuval Steinitz, “They lost nine years where they could have explored, developed and enjoyed the benefits of natural gas that Israel has already utilized for the past seven years.” 

Several factors came together to create the October 14 talks. Lebanon is currently experiencing its worst-ever economic crisis in the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut on August 4 that killed 202 people and caused $15 billion in property damage. Pressure to ease burdens on domestic power generation and tackle exploding debt is intense enough to soften longstanding qualms related to Israel. In addition, the U.S. government recently imposed a wave of sanctions against individual Lebanese officials allied with the Shi’ite armed group Hezbollah and political party Amal which dominate Lebanon’s fractured government.    

Israelis sitting with another Arab delegation reminded many observers of the recent Abraham Accords normalizing relations with UAE and Bahrain.  However, in this case, diplomatic relations seem to be a remote prospect. Just before the talks, the pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar daily called the talks “a moment of unprecedented political weakness for Lebanon” and, referring to implied recognition of its existence simply by the act of talking, argued that “Israel was the real beneficiary.” There is truth to Hezbollah’s claim that discussions are a win for Israel. The October 28 meeting will move forward to next steps, including proposals for demarcation of Lebanon’s sovereign reach into the eastern Mediterranean. As put by Laury Haytayan, a Lebanese oil & gas specialist, “It’s beyond demarcating our borders. We are recognizing the existence of Israel by recognizing its borders.”