The American mediator Amos Hochstein told Lebanese officials that all the “negative reports” regarding the demarcation negotiations are coming from Lebanon’s side.
Local media reported that Hochstein stated that he will visit Israel in the coming days and that he had “agreed with the Israeli prime minister on a positive framework.”
Hochstein had reportedly said that “officials in Israel were preoccupied with the war on Gaza” and hence the border demarcation was not discussed in the meeting.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported that there’s a high possibility of reaching an agreement soon. It added that Washington and Tel Aviv are taking Hezbollah‘s threats “very seriously.”
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that a clearer perspective has materialized about the maritime border demarcation file with Israel’s new tendency to distance “the Hezbollah issue” from their foreign policy file concerning Lebanon.
This tendency was presented as “security guarantees”.
This Israeli goal was highlighted in the calls and tours of the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, regardless of the possibility of his success in reaching a compromise.
Many Hebrew journalists expressed this goal by highlighting an “Israeli effort” aimed at reducing Hezbollah’s interference in the demarcation issue, and thus the entire Lebanese foreign affairs file.
This vision of gradually removing Hezbollah from the file of demarcation comes within a more comprehensive U.S. plan for the region and efforts to neutralize Iranian influence in Lebanon and elsewhere.
Related: Maritime Borders Demarcation Final Agreement To Be Reached On Hochstein’s Next Visit To Beirut
