The Lebanese Deputy House Speaker and top negotiator, Elias Bou Saab, stressed that Hezbollah threats to use military power forced ‘Israel’ to make concessions and avert its stubborn insistence on depriving Lebanon from its maritime rights.
In an online interview with the Head of the American Task Force on Lebanon, Edward Gabriel, Bou Saab indicated that the US mediator Amos Hochstein referred to Hezbollah military power in order to warn against the possible escalation if the negotiators fail to reach a deal.
Gabriel asked Bou Saab about the influence of Hezbollah military threats on the deal before the latter resolutely answered that the Lebanese Resistance did set the course of the deal till its success.
Hochstein to Visit Beirut Next Week
Amos Hochstein will be in Beirut next week with a copy of the maritime agreement for Lebanese officials to sign, Bou Saab told Reuters on Wednesday.
Bou Saab said, “Hochstein will be in Beirut next week with the agreement that we will sign.” However, he did not say when the agreement would be signed.
According to the Lebanese daily, Al-Akhbar, Hochstein himself did not set the exact date of his visit and called for waiting for the upcoming days.
President Michel Aoun announced on Thursday Lebanon’s approval of US mediator’s final draft of southern maritime border demarcation proposal. The Zionist government approved last Wednesday a US-brokered maritime deal with Lebanon, surrendering to Lebanon’s insistence on its rights.
During the recent months, Hezbollah played a central role in forcing the Zionist enemy to abandon its schemes to infringe on the Lebanese rights. On July 3, 2022, Hezbollah flew three drones over the Israeli platforms in Karish gas field which lies in the disputable zone, sending a powerful message that warns the enemy against any infringement.
On July 13, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah warned on the Israeli enemy and the United States that if Lebanon is prevented from extracting its maritime resources, ‘Israel’ will not be able to extract or sell gas and oil.
On July 31, Hezbollah military media released a video which shows the Israeli platforms operating in the Mediterranean, warning the Zionist enemy of its attempts to plunder Lebanon’s gas and oil fields.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
