Knesset members Dan Illouz (Likud) and Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday with an urgent demand to cancel the natural gas/maritime border agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon.
The lawmakers said that the agreement, which then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid signed in October 2022, can no longer be maintained “following the daily attacks coming from Lebanese soil since October 7.”
Illouz and Sukkot added that when the accord was signed, they warned against the severe consequences of concessions in the Middle East, which are considered a sign of weakness and encourage further attacks. At the time, Lapid hailed the agreement as a “tremendous” diplomatic, military and economic achievement for Israel.”
At the time of the deal, many experts said that it would lead to reduced security for Israel’s northern communities.
Analysts from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) said that Lapid overstated the benefits of the deal, while others such as Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, said, “I think economically it’s a good deal. Strategically, we might face many problems as a consequence of this.”
Netanyahu said at the time said that the agreement was a capitulation to Hezbollah.
Illouz and Sukkot took the issue one step further and said that the “capitulation” in 2022 can be compared to the military withdrawals from territories controlled by Israel, namely the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and the disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The MKs who are both members of the current government, said that similar to these events, the agreement with Lebanon leads to an escalation of violence and reduced security.
“Since October 7, tens of thousands of Israeli citizens have been living under constant threat of rockets and missiles from Lebanon, and many have been forced to leave their homes,” they wrote in the letter.
They also said that providing revenue to the state of Lebanon, which is de facto controlled by Hezbollah, strengthens the Islamist organization’s ability to enhance its terrorist infrastructure and prepare for further confrontations with Israel.
Illouz and Sukkot called on the government to take necessary steps to protect Israel’s security in the face of widespread aggression coming from Lebanon and cancel the agreement outright.
“The [need for] cancellation does not stem from loss of control or motives of vengeance, but from a deep understanding of Middle Eastern reality and the necessity to act accordingly,” they wrote.
