With the signing of the agreement delineating the maritime borders between Israel and Lebanon, Israel will receive from the American government a letter of guarantees clarifying that the US is committed to Israel's security and economic rights in the event of a scenario where Hezbollah or another party decides to challenge the agreement that was signed.
The basis of the letter is guarantees for the Buoy Line as Israel's line of defense and safeguarding Israel's economic rights in the Sidon Reservoir (Qana Field), as well as preventing the proceeds from the reservoir from reaching Hezbollah in accordance with the existing American sanctions regime.
The government listed the main points of the agreement:
- The border line in the sea between Israel and Lebanon: the buoy line will be recognized as the status quo and there will be no claims to change the line unless another future agreement is reached between the parties.
- Beyond the buoy line, the border line will be based on line 23.
- Israel will receive financial compensation for revenues from the Sidon reservoir in accordance with its negotiations with Total.
The achievements of the agreement, according to the government, are:
A. A historic agreement with the state of Lebanon that safeguards all of Israel's security interests and meets all the requirements of the security system.
B. The agreement will bring with it regional strategic stability and it will allow Lebanon to set up a rig, so that at the end of the day there will be two rigs facing each other: one on the Lebanese side and one on the Israeli side.
C. The agreement will reduce the dependence of the state of Lebanon on Iran and Hezbollah and will contribute to its stability. The money from the Lebanese production will not reach Hezbollah - there are clear American sanctions on this issue.
D. Israel will receive royalties even before they start extracting from the Sidon reservoir and future royalties from the production, thus preserving its economic interests. Without an agreement between Israel and the developing company, Lebanon will not be able to develop the reservoir.