Israel receives letter of US guarantees on maritime border deal

T. Belman. Since when were US guarantees worth anything. I wouldn’t have thought that such a deal has anything to do with Israel’s security, so why a US security guarantees needed? I am surprised that security is even mentioned. US can easily give more money to Iran when it signs a deal with them so Iran has more to give Hezbollah. My guess is that doing this deal will cost the current government some support.

AG says referendum not necessary.

US commits to protect Israeli interests, ensure profits from gas rig do not reach Hezbollah.

With the signing of the agreement delineating the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon, Israel will receive from the American government a letter of guarantees clarifying that the US is committed to Israel’s security and economic rights in the event of a scenario where Hezbollah or another party decides to challenge the agreement that was signed.

The basis of the letter is guarantees for the Buoy Line as Israel’s line of defense and safeguarding Israel’s economic rights in the Sidon Reservoir (Qana Field), as well as preventing the proceeds from the reservoir from reaching Hezbollah in accordance with the existing American sanctions regime.

The government listed the main points of the agreement:

– The border line in the sea between Israel and Lebanon: the buoy line will be recognized as the status quo and there will be no claims to change the line unless another future agreement is reached between the parties.

– Beyond the buoy line, the border line will be based on line 23.

– Israel will receive financial compensation for revenues from the Sidon reservoir in accordance with its negotiations with Total.

The achievements of the agreement, according to the government, are:

A. A historic agreement with the state of Lebanon that safeguards all of Israel’s security interests and meets all the requirements of the security system.

B. The agreement will bring with it regional strategic stability and it will allow Lebanon to set up a rig, so that at the end of the day there will be two rigs facing each other: one on the Lebanese side and one on the Israeli side.

C. The agreement will reduce the dependence of the state of Lebanon on Iran and Hezbollah and will contribute to its stability. The money from the Lebanese production will not reach Hezbollah – there are clear American sanctions on this issue.

D. Israel will receive royalties even before they start extracting from the Sidon reservoir and future royalties from the production, thus preserving its economic interests. Without an agreement between Israel and the developing company, Lebanon will not be able to develop the reservoir.

October 12, 2022 | 12 Comments »

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  1. @Edgar

    The A7 reports that Shaked voted AGAINST and Hendel abstained.

    Thank you for bringing this to my attention, as I haven’t been on Arutz since early today when they had reported what I posted. The earlier story on Arutz stated that she had abstained and that everyone else voted in favor (link).
    To be honest, I was quite upset to hear that she had not voted against the bill as it made me think she was a few spoons short of having any sense at all. Consequently, I am happy to hear she is not foolish enough to have done as was reported earlier in the day.

    In other news on Shaked, there is a report that Bennett might resign from being alternate PM and Shaked is trying to get him to hand her his veto power. This would be a much better proposition for the Right, as Bennett has exceeded himself at disappointing the Right and did so again this morning by having voted for the Lebanon give-a-way. If Shaked held that power, she could and would use it to better control Lapid, as she has a motivation to do so, whereas her former master has no motivation, and apparently no interest, to do so.

  2. @PELONI-

    The A7 reports that Shaked voted AGAINST and Hendel abstained. In another statement (maybe the same one but further on) she said that if it were up to her she’d VETO it. That the Karish field is already Israel’s with no argument, and doesn’t need Lebanese agreement for it.

    And More….!!

  3. CHANA-

    You ask, where was the US. They were there, pretty busy….making sure that Israel didn’t have a whip-hand over their beloved Arab friends.

    And TED. What you say further down the page, which I have just seen, is exactly what I posted on Arutz today re Peace Treaty etc.

  4. T

    TED-

    HaTAretz is a great source of reliable info. So it’ll avert war with Hezbollah. Since the LAST Hezbollah war, 16 years ago, there has been the same talk every month or so, but NO WAR.

    In my opinion they don’t want open war, which they know they would lose, and irredeemably damage their power and hold on Lebanon. They want the “threat”, which is, for them , just as satisfying.

    The “deal’ with “Lebanon” is being rushed through without a full Knesset approval.

    I hope this will damage Lapid and that the LIKUD and aliesl will get a clear majority. If they finally support Shaked they will get those vital 4 seats.

    And THEN, will they be able to annul that Lebanon deal..??. You know a lot more than just Canadian Law, so you should be able to tell us, if it can be abrogated.

    it seems that many traditional and legal steps have been shunted aside to rush this deal through. The US “guarantee” is just toilet paper. There is NO way, dealing with wily Arabs, that they can prevent those new billions from going to Hezbollah for major cutting edge armaments, and field terrorism. Israel the Middle East Powerhouse, right next door, hasn’t been able to do it either.

  5. I did not post this comment previously. This deal is a red flag for me to hear that the US “guarantees” Israel’s security in the event of Hezbollah’s response. That means zero, as it did when they guaranteed to help us after we excited Gaza in 2005. How many wars did we fight, and where was the US then? Fighting along with us? Ha ha ha. Such a lie. Also, I have not seen any comment as to what will happen to the gas Israel agreed to supply to the EU. I expected the EU to object to this deal. Did they – the media is not telling us the whole story, so I do wonder.

  6. It is a red flag for me to hear that the US “guarantees” Israel’s security in the event of Hezbollah’s response. That means zero, as it did when they guaranteed to help us after we excited Gaza in 2005. How many wars did we fight, and where was the US then? Fighting along with us? Ha ha ha. Such a lie. Also, I have not seen any comment as to what will happen to the gas Israel agreed to supply to the EU. I expected the EU to object to this deal. Did they – the media is not telling us the whole story, so I do wonder.

  7. I fail to understand why this agreement is a big deal. Does anyone believe that Hezbollah would have attacked Israel if it didn’t do this deal. Conversely does anyone believe that because of this deal, Hezbollah will refrain from attacking Israel when Iran tells them to do so.

    So what was the urgency? No deal should have been done in the absence of a peace treaty and diplomatic relations.

  8. Treasonous. These leftists keep giving everything away and get paper guarantees from the perfidious Americans. Absolutely useless. To paraphrase Kissinger: Being America’s enemy is bad. Being America’s ally can be fatal. Lapid has no authority, the security cabinet and the larger cabinet have no authority this close to an election. Lebanon won’t recognize Israel or even sign the agreement with us. Disgusting. The whole thing makes me sick. Hopefully the next gov’t will correct this
    betrayal.

  9. Security cabinet approves Lebanon border deal, Shaked abstains
    Bennett backs deal setting final maritime boundary between Israel and Lebanon, while Ayelet Shaked abstains. Cabinet expected to ratify deal

    Oct 12, 2022, 2:06 PM (GMT+3)

    Israel’s security cabinet voted Wednesday afternoon to back the maritime boundary deal with Lebanon, sending the tentative agreement to the full cabinet for ratification.

    “There is importance and urgency in reaching the maritime agreement between Israel and Lebanon, at this time. The members of the Security Cabinet express their support for the Government of Israel to advance the agreement,” Lapid said at the meeting.

    Along with Lapid, Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett joined the security cabinet meeting, along with ministers including Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Finance Minister Avidgor Liberman, Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Energy Minister Karine Elharrar.

    Shaked abstained from the vote, while Bennett backed the agreement, even as he downplayed its significance.”

    “This is neither a time for a victory lap nor for lamenting, as if this were some kind of catastrophe,” Bennett said. “This agreement is not a historic diplomatic victory, but at the same time it is not a terrible defeat. This is a necessary arrangement, made obligatory by the situation we are in, with problematic timing.”

    “Unfortunately, even this meeting on an important security issue for Israel, based on strategic needs, was carried out with political considerations mixed in, from all sides. As someone with no political interests, I learned the subject in depth and I made my decision responsibly.”

    Aside from Shaked’s abstention, the vote in the security cabinet was unanimous.

    With the security cabinet’s backing, the deal is expected to easily pass in the full cabinet.

    Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said Tuesday that the government should bring the agreement before the full Knesset for a vote, but ruled that the cabinet can ratify the deal without Knesset approval.

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/361074

  10. A Referendum is only needed when the outcome is clear and decided up front. In this case, when the AG gets involved in the discussion, all red Alarme are on.