Israel’s High Court of Justice on Monday ruled that the interim government must respond to a petition calling for parliamentary approval on a controversial U.S.-brokered maritime deal with Lebanon.
The petition, filed by the Lavi organization for citizens’ rights, claims that since the current government is only a caretaker one, any potential deal must first reach a Knesset vote, The Times of Israel reported.
The petition further demands that pending Knesset approval, the government cease talks with Lebanon — which the White House is currently mediating.
The court ruled that the government has until October 27 — four days before national elections — to respond to the petition, the report said.
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the lack of a referendum on the loss of Israeli territory made the maritime deal “illegal.”
“[Lapid] did it without discussion in the Knesset and without a referendum. Lapid has no right to hand over territory and sovereign revenues to an enemy state,” he said on Monday.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Saturday announced that a U.S. proposal for the demarcation of a maritime border with Israel was forthcoming. Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah later in the day said that Lebanon would be the ultimate decision-maker in the agreement.
Lapid lauded the nascent proposal for “safeguarding Israel’s security-diplomatic interests, as well as its economic interests.”
“Money will flow into the state’s coffers and our energy independence will be secured. This deal strengthens Israel’s security and Israel’s economy,” Lapid said.
“We do not oppose the development of an additional Lebanese gas field, from which we will of course receive the share we deserve. Such a field will weaken Lebanon’s dependence on Iran, restrain Hezbollah and promote regional stability,” he went on.
The proposal, drafted by mediator and former U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy AffairsAmos Hochstein, would allow energy production from the offshore Karish gas field, which is the crux of the dispute between the two nations. While Israel maintains that the gas field is within its territorial waters, Lebanon claims it is partially within its own.
Hezbollah, the terror group that effectively controls Lebanese politics, has threatened war over Israel’s decision to develop the Karish gas field and has attacked an Israeli rig twice in recent months. The Israeli military has intercepted several Hezbollah drones headed for the rig in over the summer.
Critics in Israel and the U.S. have blasted the deal.
“Lapid shamefully surrendered to Nasrallah’s threats,” Netanyahu said. “He is giving Hezbollah sovereign territory of the State of Israel with a huge gas reservoir.”
Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, told Breitbart the deal was a last ditch attempt by Lapid to gather points ahead of Israel’s upcoming election next month.
According to Kontorovich, the Lapid caretaker government was “surrendering to Hezbollah and Iran at the request of the Biden Administration” and “making permanent sacrifices just weeks before a general election.”
Pointing to the protests sweeping Iran, Kotorovich said: “As the people of Iran fight for their freedom, Israel is surrendering to Tehran via Beirut without even getting an acknowledgement of its existence in return, let alone peace.”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) charged the Biden administration with putting pressure on Israel to surrender to Hezbollah.
“I am deeply troubled that Biden Officials pressured our Israeli allies to hand over their territory to the Iran-controlled terrorist group Hezbollah,” he tweeted. “Another topic for the next Republican Congress to investigate.”
Former president Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, tweeted Monday: “We spent years trying to broker a deal between Israel and Lebanon on the disputed maritime gas fields. Got very close with proposed splits of 55-60% for Lebanon and 45-40% for Israel. No one then imagined 100% to Lebanon and 0% to Israel. Would love to understand how we got here.”
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