In his first trip abroad since becoming Israel’s prime minister, centrist Yair Lapid flies to Paris today to ask French President Emmanuel Macron to “mediate” to save gas talks between Lebanon and the state of Israel .
Lapid was appointed prime minister on Friday as part of a deal he made with Naftali Bennett that saw the two rotate in the premiership. In the event of the dissolution of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Lapid would take over as prime minister until elections are held, with Bennett as his deputy.
In recent weeks, their coalition has lost its majority, prompting the dissolution of parliament, the calling of elections for November, and therefore Lapid’s rise to prime ministership.
He is expected to be interim prime minister until the formation of the next government.
The day after Lapid became prime minister, the Israeli military announced it had shot down three Lebanese Hezbollah drones it said were headed for the Karis gas field in the Mediterranean, amid a resurgence of tensions in recent weeks between Israel and Lebanon.
Before leaving for France, a visit originally planned for his predecessor Naftali Bennett, Lapid said he wanted to discuss with President Macron the “repeated attacks on the Israeli gas field, which Israel does not may allow”.
The perpetrators of the drone attacks “must know that they are taking a useless risk, the Lebanese government must control Hezbollah or we will be forced to do it,” he stressed in statements he made to reporters at Tel Aviv airport.
“Hezbollah continues on the path of terrorism and undermines Lebanon’s ability to reach an agreement on maritime borders,” he had already commented over the weekend.
Paris before Biden
The visit comes ahead of next week’s visits to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia by Joe Biden, the US president’s first tour of the Middle East since taking office.
Lebanon and Israel, two neighboring countries that officially remain at war, had begun negotiations in October 2020 under the auspices of Washington to demarcate their maritime borders in order to remove obstacles to hydrocarbon exploration.
However, the talks were suspended in May 2021 due to disputes concerning the extent of the disputed zone and in particular the Karis deposit.
“We know the importance of France’s position on the issues related to Lebanon and we will ask France to mediate to continue the negotiations, which we want to see through to the gas issues,” a senior Israeli official told reporters. .
Israel signed in mid-June an agreement to supply natural gas to Egypt, which provides for its liquefaction for shipment to Europe.
The Old Continent is seeking to diversify its energy supply after Russia’s decision to stop deliveries of natural gas to European countries.
Iran on the agenda
In addition to Hezbollah, Iran is expected to be on the agenda for the Macron-Lapid talks as Israel tries to persuade Western powers not to renew an agreement to oversee Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions on Tehran.
“It is important that our position against this deal and against Iran’s nuclearization is heard now,” Lapid noted today.
Israeli officials, who fear Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon — something Tehran denies — fear the lifting of sanctions will allow Iran to refill its coffers to increase aid to allies. on Israel’s borders, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah or the Palestinian Hamas.
As prime minister, Naftali Bennett had supported the “doctrine of the octopus” against Tehran, saying that he wanted to target it directly and not only “its tentacles” in the region.
Taking the reins from him, Lapid pledged to “do everything possible” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon or “rooting in the borders” of Israel, referring mainly to neighboring Syria.
Source: Capital
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