THEN…
Feb 10, 2022:
Israel – Lebanon – The US is rejecting the new Lebanese claim and proposing a solution to the distribution of gas in the disputed gas fields
Earlier this month, Lebanon sent a letter to the UN in which it asserted its claim on point 29, weeks before the resuming of negotiations over the country’s shared maritime border with Israel.
American envoy Amos Hochstein has been visiting Beirut in the last couple of days, meeting with the President of Lebanon, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and the Lebanese Speaker of Parliament (who is also the chairman of the Shiite “Amal” movement).
According to Lebanese sources, the United States, through Hochstein, flatly rejected the Lebanese demand to start the negotiations with Lebanon’s newly asserted point 29 (which subsequently increased the disputed area by 1430 square kilometers).
The Americans propose that the French company “Total” develop the disputed gas fields mostly in Lebanon, while an American company will develop the disputed fields mostly in Israel.
NOW…
Feb. 23, 2022:
Remember the angry letter that Lebanon sent to the UN about three weeks ago? The letter in which it asserted its claim on point 29, increasing the disputed area by 1,430 square kilometers?
Well, an anonymous someone is responsible for pulling the letter back from the UN.
Bassam Yassin, the head of the Lebanese negotiation team, confirmed the matter today, adding that he was surprised by it, and that he hopes that it was done by mistake. Looks like someone made a move, keeping Yassin out of the loop.
In recent weeks, unofficial sources have reported that the US is pressuring the Lebanese government to retract it’s recent claim on point 29 and return to its original claim on point 23.
