Lapid: Israel has been trying for more than ten years to reach this deal with Lebanon (Getty)
The response of the Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapidin the weekly cabinet session, on the accusations made against him by the Israeli opposition, represented by the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahuregarding the demarcation The maritime border with Lebanonstating that the proposed agreement, according to the American mediator, preserves “all Israeli security and political interests, as well as economic interests”.
Lapid added during the session of the Israeli government today Sunday that “Israel has been trying for more than ten years to reach this agreement that improves Israeli security and the Israeli economy.”
For his part, the Minister of Justice in the Israeli government, Gideon Sa’ar, announced on Sunday that there is no relationship between the crystallized agreement and the start of operations to extract Israeli gas from the Karish platform, which is located within Israeli borders, and will remain so, ”according to his statement.
These statements came in light of the attack launched by the Israeli opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the agreement, which announced that Lebanon and Israel had received a draft from the American mediator, Amos Hochstein on Saturday.
Netanyahu says the current interim prime minister, Yair Lapid, has made concessions to Lebanon and has shown weakness in the face of threats. Hizb allah. It appears that the opposing right Lapid is using the agreement currently crystallized in the electoral battle by recruiting right-wing Israeli associations and organizations from civil society.
On Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu returned to attack the currently crystallized agreement to delimit the maritime border with Lebanon, claiming that Lapid had succumbed to Nasrallah’s threats and that he had granted “Hezbollah” land belonging to Israeli sovereignty and Israeli gas. Netanyahu threatened that the deal would not be binding on his government after the elections and that he would return everything Lapid had ceded to Lebanon through the deal.
In this context, the daily “Israel Hayom” revealed on Sunday morning that two legal associations, “Kohelet” and “Lavi”, sent letters to Israeli Prime Minister Lapid last week, challenging the authority of the current government of transition (the government custodian) to sign an agreement that may have affected the shape and demarcation of Israel’s land and sea borders.
The two groups asked Prime Minister Lapid to abide by the provisions of the public referendum law, which obliges any government in Israel to submit to the Knesset any agreement involving “territorial concessions” and to hold a public referendum before its approval.
The Israeli Knesset passed a referendum law in March 2014 with 68 votes, which requires a referendum on any peace or settlement agreement that results in Israel’s withdrawal from any occupied territory.
This move was born with the aim of depriving Lapid of showing a diplomatic and political result during the electoral battle, in light of the news that confirms the imminent reaching of an agreement to delimit the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon.
It is officially scheduled, as announced, according to Israeli media, that the political and security cabinet of the occupying power will meet next Thursday to decide on the proposal presented by the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, to both Israel and Lebanon.
–
