EThere is talk of war again. Not of agreement. Hopes that Israel and Lebanon could agree on a maritime border quickly turned to concern. The indirect negotiations between the two countries, conducted under American mediation – they have been officially at war since 1948 – are on the brink. It cannot be ruled out that they will fail. At the beginning of the week, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that the country was “on the right track”. In Beirut, agreement was reached on the last change requests, which were sent to the American mediators. Chief negotiator Elias Bou Saab said it would be “a matter of days, not weeks” if the Lebanese proposals were accepted. There was talk of “details”.
But on Thursday the cold shower came from Israel. A government official said Prime Minister Jair Lapid “was briefed on the details of the significant changes Lebanon intends to make to the deal and instructed the negotiating team to reject them.” At the same time, Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz sharpened the tone and spoke of a possible military first strike. He called on Israeli forces to “prepare for an escalation scenario in the north, both offensively and defensively.”
