BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah says the resistance movement will not recognize any maritime deal between Lebanon and the Zionist regime until it is officially signed.
The remarks by Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah came after reports that Lebanon and the occupying regime have agreed to a draft deal.
“The pending hours are fateful. As the people of Lebanon, we are awaiting an official position on the part of our president and the Zionist enemy,” Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said.
He said “we will remain vigilant” until such a deal is finalized, noting a proper deal should meet the Lebanese government’s demands.
“In such case, we would not have any problem with this matter,” he said, reminding, “From the beginning, we said that we stand by the Lebanese administration.”
“What is of importance to the resistance is for the Lebanese people to be able to extract oil and gas from Lebanese fields,” Nasrallah stated.
Also on Tuesday, a senior Hezbollah lawmaker said Lebanon’s firm position and the resistance movement’s efforts had helped the country safeguard its maritime rights in indirect talks with the Zionist regime and eventually forced the enemy to retreat.
“Had it not been for this force that frightened the enemy, we would not have been able to retrieve and maintain our rights,” MP Hussein al-Jishi said.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, meanwhile, said in a tweet that “the final version of the offer is satisfactory for Lebanon and answers its demands and preserves its rights to its natural wealth.”
Various media outlets affiliated with the Zionist regime have also said that the agreement amounted to a “great victory” for Hezbollah.
Lebanon and the Zionist regime took part in indirect talks to discuss demarcation in 2020. But the talks stalled after Lebanon demanded a larger area, including part of the Karish gas field, where the occupying regime has given exploration rights to a Greek firm.
The talks were supposed to discuss a Lebanese demand for 860 square kilometers of territory in the disputed maritime area, according to a map sent to the United Nations in 2011. However, Lebanon then said the map was based on erroneous calculations and demanded 1,430 square kilometers more further south, including part of Karish.