UN hails Israel-Lebanon maritime deal

The United Nations has “welcomed the announcements that the governments” have “formally agreed to resolve their maritime boundary dispute,” the UN statement said, according to Al Arabiya.

The President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, confirmed on October 14 in a speech to the nation that Beirut had approved the agreement reached on October 11 with the Israeli authorities to demarcate the maritime border.

“I announce the approval by Lebanon of the final version prepared by the American mediator to delineate the southern maritime border,” the Lebanese president said in a televised speech.

Aoun described the deal as a “historic achievement,” adding that Lebanon was “able to recover a disputed area of 860 square kilometres (330 square miles).”

“Lebanon did not concede a single square kilometre to Israel,” he said, adding that his country had seized full control over the Qana field, despite parts of it falling within Israel’s territorial waters.

“This indirect agreement responds to the Lebanese claims and fully preserves our rights,” he said.

He stressed that “no normalization with Israel took place.”

The agreement between the countries, which have remained technically at war since Israel’s creation in 1948, was earlier applauded by world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.