Report: Maritime border deal 'close', 'on right track'

The maritime border negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are in their final weeks and are on "a positive trajectory," an Israeli newspaper said, as Israel and Lebanon are close to reach an agreement on how to divide gas between them.

The Jerusalem Port reported that the negotiations have "shifted to compensation and gas quantities on each side of the maritime border."

The daily added that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein is expected to travel to France in the coming weeks "to meet with the leadership of Total Energies, which owns the gas exploration rights in Lebanon’s territorial waters."

"Jerusalem has moved the demarcation portfolio from the Energy Ministry to the Prime Minister’s Office," the report said.

Earlier this week, Israeli TV channel Keshet 12 said that "Israel and Lebanon will establish their own gas rigs five kilometers from each other on opposite sides of the border" and that "part of the Lebanese natural-gas field will cross into Israeli territory, and Jerusalem will be compensated for it."

Lebanon is waiting for a response from Israel after having relayed its maritime border position to Hochstein.

Lebanon and Israel, who have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a U.N.-patrolled border, had resumed negotiations over their maritime border in 2020 but the process was stalled. In June, Israel moved a production vessel into a disputed gas field, parts of which are claimed by Lebanon. The move forced the Lebanese government to call for the resumption of U.S.-mediated negotiations.