Defense Minister Benny Gantz threatened on Saturday, according to the daily “The Times of Israel,” to react “firmly” to any Hezbollah attack if there is no progress in the talks to define the maritime border with Lebanon.
If the situation escalates into a major conflict, we will destroy Lebanon, the Israeli defence minister continued.
He stated, “Israel would defend itself fiercely and attack firmly if Hezbollah makes this mistake and assaults Israel in any form, whether by land, sea, or air.”
Israel would proceed with its intentions to collect gas from the Karish field “even without an agreement,” according to Gantz. He said he hoped to sign the Qurayya Accord, but added that Israel does not concur with Lebanon’s “reservations” about it.
The problem is “now in Lebanon’s hands,” according to the Israeli defence minister.
The Israeli answer to the American offer and the Lebanese side’s comments on talks to demarcate the two nations’ maritime borders was received by Lebanon, according to a report from the Lebanese “Al-Jadeed” channel earlier today.
Following Tel Aviv’s announcement that it had rejected Lebanon’s amendments to the proposed maritime border delimitation agreement, Lebanese President Michel Aoun stated on Friday that his nation was waiting to see how US mediator Amos Hochstein’s talks with Israel turned out in order to determine the direction of the negotiations.
According to a security source cited by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation on Friday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s declaration of the army’s readiness in the country’s north sends a message to Lebanon that a military conflict will break out if a deal is not reached in the negotiations over demarcating the maritime borders between the two nations.
The broadcasting authority reported that the Israeli army “has finished its readiness for such a scenario,” while the source noted that failing to reach a deal in the negotiations might result in a “deterioration of the situation.”
According to the inquiry, Gantz ordered the army to be “on alert” out of concern that the security situation will worsen in light of recent events on the demarcation of Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon.
Lebanon claims that US-mediated negotiations to demarcate Lebanon’s maritime border with Israel hit a snag on Thursday after Israel rejected Beirut’s requests for changes to the draught accord, casting doubt on years of diplomatic work.
Gantz: Even in the absence of a deal with Lebanon, we will harvest gas from the Karish field.
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