Israel’s decision to all but endorse a US plan to redraw the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel has drawn heavy criticism from Israel’s Right, as well as from its US allies. The deal would have Israel concede some of the economic waters it currently controls, in exchange for royalties stemming from potential gas discoveries north of the border.
Former US Ambassador David Friedman lamented Monday that this was a squandered opportunity that wasted years of hard work while he was in the Trump administration. “No one then imagined 100% to Lebanon and 0% to Israel. Would love to understand how we got here.” Republican Senator Ted Cruz voiced his concern over the plan, alleging that the White House had Israel capitulate to Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is a formal partner in the Lebanese government and considered a terrorist organization by the US, Israel and other Western countries. Eugene Kontorovich said signing this agreement during a lame duck government would violate Israeli constitutional rules. “After being proposed and rejected a decade ago, the deal is being rammed through, just weeks before the Israeli elections – in violation of Israeli constitutional rules – because the Biden Administration and Hezbollah understand the desperation and weakness of the Lapid-Bennett government.”
Can we rest assured that since this deal violates Israel’s constitutional rules that it is destined to fall apart? Was getting to this point simply a vote garnering tactic for Yair Lapid? We can only hope that good sense prevails and that this one-sided, terrorist favoring agreement collapses never to be revived.