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US Welcomes Lebanon, Israel Maritime Boundary Efforts

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a news conference in Washington, US, March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a news conference in Washington, US, March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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US Welcomes Lebanon, Israel Maritime Boundary Efforts

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a news conference in Washington, US, March 10, 2022. (Reuters)
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a news conference in Washington, US, March 10, 2022. (Reuters)

The United States on Friday applauded efforts by Lebanon and Israel seeking to reach a decision on maritime boundaries and said it remains committed to facilitating the ongoing negotiations that will help determine oil and gas resources.

The Biden administration thinks a deal could "yield greater stability, security, and prosperity for both Lebanon and Israel, as well as for the region, and believes a resolution is possible," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Lebanon and Israel are locked in US-mediated negotiations to delineate a shared maritime border that would help determine which oil and gas resources belong to which country. The dispute over their boundary has obstructed energy exploration in parts of the eastern Mediterranean and risks exacerbating tensions between the two foes.

A US mediator met with Israeli negotiators last month after Lebanon put forward a proposal.

Earlier this week, the head of powerful armed group Hezbollah however warned "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast.

"Progress towards a resolution can only be reached through negotiations between the parties," the US State Department's Price said Friday.

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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.