On Thursday, Lebanon and Israel held their third indirect negotiation meeting to discuss maritime border demarcation at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, South Lebanon.
This meeting was complementary to the one that was held on Wednesday. Local media reported that the Lebanese delegation presented a documented presentation that laid claim to an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers.
Local media reported that, after attending the second US-mediated meeting with Israel on Wednesday, Lebanese Army Air Force Brig. Gen. Bassam Yassin, who heads the Lebanese delegation, visited President Michel Aoun to discuss the details of the session.
Worth noting that President Aoun’s daughter Claudine, who is also his advisor, has come under fire for indicating her openness to peace with Israel, with which Lebanon is still technically at war, should the main existing issues with Israel be resolved.
Namely, the maritime border demarcation, which is currently under negotiation, the Palestinian refugees, and the natural resources (water, oil, gas).
The Thursday meeting took place amid heavy security measures by the Lebanese Army and the UNIFIL in Naqoura, which have been adopted during all three of the Lebanon-Israel negotiation sessions that have taken place so far.
As part of those measures, the army on Wednesday had allowed journalists to cover the second session at a distance of nearly 7 kilometers from the UNIFIL headquarters.
However, a group of self-proclaimed Hezbollah members in civilian clothing forced TV crews to leave, even attacking the crew of Lebanon’s state-run television channel, which sparked public outrage and condemnation.
Lebanon and Israel will hold the fourth round of demarcation talks on November 11th.
