A prominent Lebanese analyst has warned of several ways to prevent the loss of Lebanese rights in the maritime zone disputed by the Zionist regime.
According to Pak Sahafat news agency International Group, Amin Mohammed Houtit, a Lebanese analyst and strategic expert on the region, wrote in an article about the recent Israeli encroachment on Lebanese maritime rights in the disputed region: Lebanon has never witnessed this amount of confusion and error in resolving various cases, such as the case of drawing the maritime border with occupied Palestine and determining its net economic zone.
The fact is that this case has reached a dangerous point at the moment, which if the negligence and negligence of the relevant officials continues, the area of ​​more than 2,290 square kilometers of the Lebanese economic zone may be lost, which is where the Zionist regime after the cessation of negotiations. It indirectly clings to the demarcation of borders and avoids accepting Lebanon’s terms, which are in line with legal and documented arguments.
Hatit added: In this regard, Lebanon must refrain from repeating its mistakes in this case and the negotiations it conducted with Cyprus, which led to a mistake in determining the position of point 1 and then 23 in the region. At present, the main problem in this case is related to correcting this error and revoking the wrong order and replacing it with a new order, which includes the correct determination of the borders of the Lebanese economic zone.
According to the report, the Lebanese Army Command has conducted an in-depth study in this regard and has repeatedly asked the relevant authorities to amend the order regarding the maritime borders of Lebanon and occupied Palestine.
The request has been repeatedly sent orally and in writing, even last month to the Lebanese Ministry of Defense and then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Lebanese analyst stressed: Under these circumstances, the Zionist regime took advantage of Lebanon’s mistakes in this case. In 2011, it decided to hand over the exploration of 5 gas fields in the disputed area to Lebanon to an American company, including the Karish field, which is part of the region. The Lebanese economy is also considered, and last week Israel announced that the company has begun exploration in the area.
Here, the position of the Lebanese officials on the Zionist regime’s violation of Lebanese maritime rights shows regret. In the face of this blatant violation of the sovereignty and rights of the country, Lebanese political officials must respond to the request of the army command and amend the order regarding the demarcation of the maritime border and occupied Palestine, but we see that instead of a practical action, the Foreign Ministry want to stop Israel from violating Lebanese rights and exploring the disputed area.
Amin Hatit continued: The Lebanese officials’ reluctance to amend the order and allow the UN to investigate whether the Zionist regime’s recent action in the disputed area is a violation of Lebanese rights means that Lebanon remains committed to the previous order and what is in the south. The disputed area does not know that its rights are being violated, in which case several important question marks arise:
Why didn’t the Lebanese government ask the army to investigate or participate in the case of the violation of Lebanese rights in the disputed area with the Zionist regime?
Why didn’t the Lebanese government at least call for joint action by the army and the United Nations in this regard?
Doesn’t anyone who has asked the UN to address this issue know that it is endorsing the same previous order that ignored much of Lebanon’s rights in the disputed area with the Israeli regime?
Doesn’t anyone who has made this request to the UN and the Security Council know that the UN response to Israel’s violation of Lebanese rights will be negative; Because the Zionists have been digging in areas that do not belong to Lebanon according to the previous order, the way Lebanese officials interact with this sensitive issue will cause the country to lose its rights at the sea border.
The Lebanese expert further clarified: By asking these questions and the answers to be given to them, we see that the behavior of the Lebanese officials – intentionally or unintentionally – has in fact been a valuable service to the Zionist enemy, and we hope that these actions are not in response to US orders without regard to Lebanese national interests.
But in the face of this fact, in order to avoid a national catastrophe and the loss of Lebanese rights in the maritime zone disputed by the Zionist enemy, and when Israel is trying to seize Lebanese rights in the region by force, we believe that Lebanese officials should take the following steps:
Withdrawal from the 2011 UN order on the delimitation of the maritime border between Lebanon and the Zionist regime by the United Nations, and its notification to the organization as well as the United States that Lebanon has a new order in this regard that the Lebanese delegation has already negotiated to the Zionist regime that began in 2020 under US supervision.
Pressing the United Nations and the United States and emphasizing that no action or exploration should be carried out in the region until the task of delineating the maritime border between Lebanon and the Zionist regime is clarified, and that Lebanon uses any means ready to defend its rights.
Failure to follow up on a request from the United Nations to examine the recent Israeli action in the disputed area and to determine whether this Israeli act constituted a violation of Lebanese rights; because, as mentioned, this request means the approval of the previous order regarding the disputed area with the Zionists.
At the end of his article, Hatit emphasized: Accordingly, if Lebanon intends to involve the UN in this case, it must first amend the 2011 order on the case and adhere to its full rights in the disputed area, then ask the UN to ask the Lebanese army in the process of verification.
In the end, we hope that the Lebanese officials will fulfill their national duty in this regard and we will not have to ask questions that the Lebanese officials are concerned about their own interests and are afraid of the anger of the Americans at the cost of national interests.