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David Friedman on gas deal: ‘No one imagined 100% to Lebanon and 0% to Israel’

The former U.S. envoy to Jerusalem said an agreement had been close wherein Israel would get around half of the disputed maritime territory.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gives the keynote speech at the Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem, May 26, 2022. Credit: David Isaac.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gives the keynote speech at the Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem, May 26, 2022. Credit: David Isaac.

“I understand Lebanon gets it all,” David Friedman, the former American ambassador to Israel, said Monday as he blasted the emerging U.S.-mediated maritime border deal.

“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,” he tweeted.

“Would love to understand how we got here,” he added.

Later, responding to a tweet by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, who has been defending the current Israeli government’s handling of the negotiations, Friedman stated: “As to the disputed territory, I understand Lebanon gets it all.”

Also on Monday, a top Israeli official was in Paris for negotiations with TotalEnergies SE about future profit-sharing from the company’s exploration of a natural gas deposit off the coasts of Israel and Lebanon, a source told Reuters.

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