Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday signed a letter approving a landmark U.S-brokered agreement laying out the country's maritime boundary with Lebanon, after the Lebanese officials approved the agreement hours earlier.
The deal marks a diplomatic departure from decades of hostility, later in the day. Earlier on Thursday, the government officially approved the deal in a final vote.
The agreement opens the way for offshore energy exploration and removes one source of potential conflict between Israel and Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and could help alleviate Lebanon's economic crisis.
Hailed by all three parties as a historic achievement, the deal was be signed separately in Jerusalem by Prime Minister Yair Lapid following his cabinet's approval.
Speaking from the presidential palace, negotiator Elias Bou Saab said the agreement marked the beginning of "a new era" and that the letter would be submitted to U.S. officials at Lebanon's southernmost border point of Naqoura later on Thursday.
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Lapid signs the agreement; U.S envoy Amos Hochstein with Lebanon's president
(Photo: GPO)
Asked what happens in case of a violation by either of the sides, which remain technically at war, U.S envoy Amos Hochstein said the U.S. would remain a guarantor to help resolve any disputes.
"If one side violates the deal, both sides lose," Hochstein told reporters.
An offshore energy discovery - while not enough on its own to resolve Lebanon's deep economic problems - would be a major boon, providing badly needed hard currency and possibly one day easing crippling blackouts.
First published: 11:05, 10.27.22