Israeli leader welcomes US plan for sea border with Lebanon while Netanyahu rejects deal

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by AP - By Josef Federman - Israel’s prime minister on Sunday welcomed a U.S. proposal for setting the maritime border with Lebanon, saying the American plan for resolving a long-running dispute between the neighboring countries would lift Israel’s economy and boost regional security. Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the proposal was delivered over the weekend to both Israel and Lebanon. While he said it was still being studied, he said the plan would strengthen Israel’s northern areas near the Lebanese border, allow Israel to produce additional natural gas and deliver new revenues to the national coffers. “This is a deal that strengthens Israel’s security and Israel’s economy,” Lapid told his Cabinet. He also said Israel would not oppose the development of “an additional Lebanese gas field” straddling the maritime border, as long as Israel receives “the share we deserve.” He said this would weaken Lebanon’s dependence on Iran, restrain the Hezbollah militant group and promote regional stability. He said the deal was being reviewed by legal and defense officials before it is to be voted upon by the government. Israeli media said a vote could take place Thursday.

On Saturday, the proposal was also delivered to Lebanese leaders. Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, under whom the negotiations began in 2020 and who is hoping to return to power in November elections, said he opposed the emerging deal and wouldn’t be bound by it if reelected. Lapid, the country’s caretaker premier, is hoping to fend off Netanyahu in the polls. “Lapid has no mandate to give sovereign territory and sovereign assets that belong to all of us to an enemy state,” Netanyahu said.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948 and both countries claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser for energy security at the U.S. State Department who has been mediating between the two neighbors, last visited Beirut in September, where he expressed optimism after meeting with Lebanon’s leaders. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabi Berri, said in an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper Saturday the proposal “in principle meets the Lebanese demands.”

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Lebanon's Berri sees draft maritime deal as 'positive'

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BEIRUT  (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament speaker said a draft, U.S.-brokered deal demarcating a disputed maritime border with Israel was "positive" but must be studied before a final reply is given, according to comments distributed by his office. Earlier on Saturday the Lebanese presidency said Beirut had received a letter from U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein regarding proposals for the maritime boundary demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, enemy states with a history of conflict. Hochstein has been shuttling between Lebanon and Israel in an effort to seal a deal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration and defuse one potential source of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. In a tweet, the U.S. embassy in Beirut said Ambassador Dorothy Shea had met President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati "to provide the U.S proposal for a final agreement on the maritime boundary line".

Lebanon's Berri sees draft maritime deal as 'positive'

Berri, a Hezbollah ally and one of Lebanon's most influential politicians, told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper the draft of the final agreement was "positive", according a statement circulated by his office. Berri considered that the draft "meets in principle the Lebanese demands" which reject the maritime boundary deal having any impact on the land border between the two countries, it said. Berri noted however that the agreement was 10 pages and in English and "would require study before the final response to it is given".

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Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rahi: "We hope that Lebanon will come out of this shameful stage"

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NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, hoped Saturday for having a new president of the republic, a new government and restoring the beauty and good reputation of Lebanon. His words came during his visit today to the "Badr Hassoun" environmental village, accompanied by the Caretaker Minister of Economy Amin Salam, where they laid the foundation stone for the “Valley of Feelings” project in the village's "Khan Al-Saboun" - Dahr El-Ain El-Koura district, in the presence of the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry in the North, Toufic al-Daboussi, alongside a number of mayors and security and military leaders and economists from the region.

The Patriarch commended the Hassoun family's tremendous efforts, saying: "I am very happy to be with the Minister of Economy and the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Tripoli and all the honorable and dear faces present today...We are in Khan Al-Tuyyub, the human nature, the kindness of love that is evident through every work you do...This is our second visit because of the importance of this place and our pride in its historical achievements that have gone beyond Lebanon to the whole world.” "We hope that Lebanon will come out of this shameful stage, for it does not represent the real Lebanon, the Lebanon of giving and the beautiful fragrance, Lebanon that is creative and generous...," the Patriarch went on. "Through you, we hope to restore our role in the world, and we hope that a president will be elected and a new government will be formed, and that Lebanon will restore its beauty and proud name in the world, and we are sure that we will overcome the ordeal and the dark clouds," al-Rahi reassured. He concluded: "Our wealth is in our minds, thoughts and creativity, and this is a testimony we have heard from the five continents...During our encounters, everyone asserts that the Lebanese people are creative, Muslims and Christians."

How Lebanon's electricity crisis sparked a solar power revolution

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by english.alaraby.co.uk -- Rodayna Raydan -- For decades, paying two electricity bills in Lebanon has been the norm: one for state-provided electricity and another for a subscription to a private electricity generator. Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a severe financial crisis that the World Bank has called one of the worst in modern history. The country’s already struggling electricity sector has felt the impact of the economic downturn, and has become notoriously dysfunctional. Today, residents of Beirut only receive two to three hours of state electricity per day. A few years ago, many would rely instead on private electricity generators. But with rising inflation, many were forced to reprioritize needs, laying aside their generator subscriptions. Instead, solar panels now dot rooftops, parking lots, and balconies, allowing for a return to normalcy.

"The soaring demand for solar installations, according to Khoury, explains where the country could potentially be heading in terms of renewable and clean energy" “Lebanese are increasingly turning to the sun to meet electricity needs, and solar power has become a must to secure a supply of sustainable electricity,” Ramzi Salmen, an environmental engineer, told The New Arab. “The positive environmental outcome is the production of clean, renewable, and emission-free power,” Salmen emphasised. According to the IMF, electricity accounts for almost half of Lebanon’s USD 85 billion of public debt. The government has been subsidising Electricite du Liban, the national electric company, for years, accumulating to USD 35 billion.

Sustainable electricity experts say that the Lebanese government needs to build new power plants, shut down inefficient old ones, and utilise renewable energy to provide 24-hour electricity at lower costs, reducing public spending and debt and increasing productivity. This, in turn, would generate “green jobs” in the renewable energy sector and contribute to economic growth. “People are switching to solar for two main reasons: one is the security of the power supply as it is one of the most convenient options, but also because it is the cheapest source of electricity now compared to conventional energy sources that use diesel fuel,” Pierre Khoury, president of the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC), told The New Arab.

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Change MP accuses opposition parties of torpedoing presidential vote agreement

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by naharnet -- MP Paula Yacoubian of the Change parliamentary bloc has accused the other opposition forces of “turning against the understanding” that both groupings were reportedly working on in a bid to agree on a single candidate for the presidential election. “Is there a figure that is more sovereign than (ex-MP) Salah Honein? Why don’t they want to go to a reasonable and acceptable solution?” Yacoubian asked, in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper published Friday. “They turned against all agreements and made a condition that we endorse the candidate whom they agreed on and who is not consistent with our initiative which calls for a figure that is not part of the political alignments,” the MP added. “We believe that only such a figure can secure the number of votes that allows the election of a president and can prevent the win of a March 8 figure. Can they secure 65 votes for Michel Mouawad?” Yacoubian wondered.

Lebanese Forces sources responded to Yacoubian’s remarks, saying that what’s important is that “most opposition components have voted for the presidential candidate Michel Mouawad.” “Based on the principle of democracy, this will open the door to renewed consultations and communication with all these components to stress that the majority wants this orientation,” the LF sources told Asharq al-Awsat. “Accordingly, all opposition parties and independents must join this sovereign and reformist choice, because it is in the interest of the opposition’s unity,” the sources added. SourceNaharnet

Minister Sejaan Azzi: كلُّ شيءٍ يَتحَدّانا ويَستَفِزُّنا فمَن نَنتخِب؟

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

لكي نَتمكّنَ من انتخابِ رئيسِ جُمهوريّةٍ لا يُشكِّلُ تحديًّا لأحدٍ يجب أن نختارَ مبدئيًّا رئيسًا من خارجِ المشروعَين السياسيّين اللذين يَشطُران لبنان ويُقسّمانِه عَمُوديًّا وأفْقيًّا. إذ أيُّ مرشَّحٍ حياديِّ يَملِكُ الشَجاعةَ والقُدرةَ على حكمِ الدولةِ اللبنانيّةِ ما لم يَتمّ التوافقُ عليه بين المشروعَين اللذين لا يلتقيان دون هزيمةِ أحدهما؟ في المنطقِ ذاتِه: "المرشَّحُ الحياديُّ" هو مرشَّحُ تحدٍ أيضًا، بحيثُ سيَعتَبره أركانُ المشروعَين تحدّيًا لهم ونُكْرانًا لصِفاتِـهم التمثيليّة. وإذا ما تراجعَ الرئيسُ الجديدُ عن موقعِه الحياديِّ والتَحَق بأحد المشروعين صار فريقًا، فهل يستطيعُ أن يَحكمَ البلادَ ضِدَّ المشروعِ الفارسيِّ/السوريِّ ذي الامتدادِ اللبنانيّ، أو ضِدَّ المشروعِ الخليجيٍّ/الأميركيِّ ذي الامتداد اللبناني كذلك؟ في هذه الحالةِ لا يعودُ هناك فرقٌ بين مرشَّحِ التحدي المختارِ أصلًا من أحدِ المشروعَين ومرشَّحِ "اللاتحدّي" الـمُنضوي لاحقًا إلى أحدِ المشروعَين.

الّذين يُطالبون، عن حسنِ نيّةٍ، برئيسٍ لا يُشكِّلُ بالمطلقِ تَحدّيًا لأحدٍ، يراهنون على بقاءِ الرئيسِ الجديد خارجَ المحاورِ وفوقَها ليكونَ عَرّابَ المصالحةِ الوطنيّةِ أكثرَ من رئيسِ الجمهوريّة. لكنَّ حَسَنيَّ النيّةِ فاتَهم أنْ لا مصالحةَ لبنانيّةً قبلَ مصالحةِ محاورِ الشرقِ الأوسط، أو بموازاتِها، أو قبل انسحابِ اللبنانيّين من المحاورِ الإقليميّةِ، أو حسمِ موازينِ القوى في ضوءِ نظامٍ عالَميٍّ يبحث عن استقرار بعدما أخْفقَ نظامُ ما بعدَ سقوطِ جِدارِ برلين (09 تشرين الثاني 1989). وما يُثيرُ المخاوفَ هو أنْ تؤثّــرَ تعقيداتُ الـمِنطـقةِ وحروبُـها وتسوياتُـها على الوضعِ اللبناني، لاسيّما أنها في مرحلةٍ جديدةٍ بدأت بارتباكِ مفاوضاتِ ڤيينا حولَ الـمَلفِ النوويّ الإيرانيِّ، بتَعثّرِ الهجومِ الروسيِّ في أوكرانيا وتهديدِ بوتين "باستعمالِ السلاحِ النوويِّ لحمايةِ شعبه"، بانتصارِ اليمينِ القوميِّ في إيطاليا، بزعزعةِ الوِحدةِ الأوروبيّةِ، بالانتفاضةِ النِسويّةِ الإيرانيّةِ ضد تَعسّفِ النظامِ بخاصةٍ ضّدَ المرأةِ هذه المرّة، بالاضطراباتِ المتجدّدةِ في العراق، باستدارةِ تركيا نحو إسرائيل وسوريا، بانتشار همجيّةِ طالبان في أفغانستان، وبنجاحِ التطبيعِ العربيِّ/الإسرائيليّ. لقد باتت مصالحةُ اليهودِ والمسلِمين سهلةً أكثرَ من مصالحةِ المسلمِين الفرس والمسلمِين العرب.

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