Biden brokers breakthrough maritime deal between Israel and Lebanon

VIENNA — The Biden administration has successfully brokered a deal between warring states Israel and Lebanon delineating maritime boundaries, allowing gas extraction from a key field in the eastern Mediterranean. 

Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s senior adviser for energy security, brokered the deal over a year of negotiations, shuttling between Israel and Lebanon on text that satisfied both countries’ economic and security needs. 

A senior administration official said on Tuesday the deal had been in the works dating back to the Obama administration, when President Biden was involved in the issue as vice president.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said earlier Tuesday that Israel and Lebanon had “reached a historic agreement”

“Tomorrow I will assemble the political-security cabinet followed by a government meeting. The draft agreement fully complies with the principles presented by Israel in the security and economic fields,” he tweeted.

“This is a historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, bring billions into Israel’s economy and ensure stability on the northern border.”

The information office of Lebanese President Michel Aoun had earlier tweeted that the “final version” of the agreement presented by Hochstein “satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands and preserves its right to its natural wealth.” 

Aoun’s tweet followed a statement published early Tuesday from the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Eyal Hulata, who said, “All our demands have been met, the changes we demanded have been fixed. We have preserved Israel’s security interests.”

A senior Biden administration official told reporters later in the day that the president had reached out to both Lapid and Aoun to express his congratulations on the completion of the deal and commitment to further assistance in implementing the agreement.

“This has not been an easy negotiation, but the agreement is historic and we expect there may be other difficult moments as we implement this agreement moving forward,” the official said. “The United States continues and will continue to offer its help in facilitating any discussions in the future where its diplomatic efforts are useful.”

The deal will bring significant economic benefits for Lebanon, the official added, as the country grapples with a wide-ranging economic crisis. Much of its population does not have regular access to electricity, meaning hospitals, homes and other infrastructure are unable to function.

The potential to extract hydrocarbons could provide a more sustainable source of energy for Lebanon, the official said, and spur investment in the country.

Biden administration officials held key talks with both Israeli and Lebanese officials during the United Nations General Assembly last month, where Beirut and Jerusalem signaled that a final deal was imminent. 

The agreement between Israel and Lebanon centers around access to the gas fields in the sea. The agreement was meant to address maritime boundary lines that would allow Israel to extract gas from the Karish field and Lebanon access to the Qana gas field.

The agreement holds both important practical and symbolic relevance, allowing gas extraction to proceed from the Karish field, providing a potential alternative source for energy delivery to Europe as it seeks to cut itself off from Russian gas because of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The agreement holds immense symbolism for the region, marking a breakthrough in cooperation between Israel and Lebanon, who technically remain at war. 

The U.S.-designated terrorist group Hezbollah, a proxy group allied with Iran that controls southern Lebanon and holds sway in the country, had issued military threats against Israel if it began extracting gas from Karish absent an agreement with Beirut. 

While Israeli security officials view Hezbollah as one of their most critical threats, security analysts said the threats leveraged by Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah appeared to be bluster and a way for the militant group to assert itself as a party to the talks. 

Mona Yacoubian, a senior adviser in the Middle East and North Africa Center at the U.S. Institute of Peace, had earlier told The Hill that Nasrallah’s threats appeared to be “theater.” 

“In other words, saber rattling as a way of Hezbollah establishing itself as an actor working towards Lebanon’s benefit — so that when this deal comes, they shape their role in that way, that it was partly their pressure, their strong line on defending Lebanon’s interests that helped get Lebanon a deal,” she said. 

Brett Samuels in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:26 p.m.