David Friedman: Hezbollah obtained another 40% for Lebanon

In an interview with Israel Hayom, former American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, harshly criticized the maritime border agreement with Lebanon. Friedman, who accompanied the previous round of talks, said that Hezbollah’s insistence on receiving complete control of the entire territory in question resulted in Israel caving in to their demands.

“Hezbollah is the party that managed to get others to move from the position we were in a few years ago. Therefore, it seems to me that Hezbollah will be the one to profit from the spoils,” insisted Friedman, adding that, “Hezbollah was not directly part of the talks, but its position is what brought Lebanon the additional 40 percent [of the disputed territory]. This addition, compared to past negotiations, is a direct result of Hezbollah’s actions.”

“By the way, I’m not the only one saying this,” he continued. “The official mediator during Trump’s tenure, David Schenker, a professional diplomat in the State Department is saying the same thing.”

According to a recent poll, a majority of Israelis support the agreement, and say that it was appropriate to sign it even during an election period.

Asked whether it was right to sign the agreement during an election period, 47% of respondents said they support signing the agreement during this period, while 36% answered in the negative, 17% answered that they do not know.

Poll respondents were also asked what were Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s main motives in deciding to reach the agreement. 47% think that Lapid’s motives were political, compared to 41% who think that the motives were out of concern for the security and economy of the State of Israel. 12% answered that they do not know.

Israel’s security cabinet voted on Wednesday afternoon to back the maritime boundary deal with Lebanon, sending the tentative agreement to the full cabinet for ratification.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked voted against the agreement, while Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett backed the agreement, even as he downplayed its significance.

Despite pressure from the opposition to bring the deal to a vote in the full Knesset, the government will only allow the Knesset to review the agreement, but without holding a vote on the matter.

Lapid on Wednesday hailed the agreement as a “great achievement for the State of Israel, for Israel’s security and for Israel’s economy”.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, accused the government of surrendering to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.