For the first time in 30 years, Israel and Lebanon will hold direct negotiations to try to resolve their maritime border dispute, officials for both sides and the United States said Thursday.
The talks between the two neighboring states, which are at war and have no diplomatic ties, will be mediated by the US and hosted by the United Nations.
Those negotiations, over an 860-square-kilometer area in the Eastern Mediterranean near Israel’s natural-gas fields, are scheduled to begin the week of October 12 at the UN base in Naqoura, near the country’s border with Israel at Rosh Hanikra.
“The United States looks forward to commencement of the maritime boundary discussions soon, to be held in Naqoura, Lebanon, under the UN flag and hosted by the staff from the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL),” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
News of the pending negotiations is viewed as the latest Middle East success for the Trump administration with regard to Israel’s ties with its neighbors. It follows two US-brokered normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
“Today’s announcement is a vital step forward that serves the interests of Lebanon and Israel, of the region, and of the United States,” Pompeo said. “Both countries requested that the United States participate as mediator and facilitator in the maritime discussions,” he added.
“This historic agreement between the two parties was brokered by the United States and is the result of nearly three years of intense diplomatic engagement by Ambassador David Satterfield and Assistant Secretary [of State for Near East Affairs] David Schenker,” Pompeo said…