Islam Times - Lapid Surrendered to Nasrallah’s Threats: Netanyahu

Islam Times - In response to some speculations about signing the border demarcation agreement with Beirut, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Lapid surrendered to Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasralla’s threats.

Lapid is giving in to Hezbollah in the maritime border deal with Lebanon while trying to hide its details from the public, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday.

“Yair Lapid shamefully surrendered to [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah’s threats,” Netanyahu stated. “He is giving Hezbollah sovereign territory of Israel with a huge gas reservoir that belongs to you, the citizens of Israel.”

Netanyahu’s remarks came shortly after Lapid mentioned that the deal, mediated by US Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein, was nearly complete and would have Israel concede most of the area under dispute while receiving royalties from Total Energy, which holds the Lebanese license for gas extraction from a field that goes beyond the area of the Mediterranean Sea that is under dispute into Israeli waters.

Netanyahu said that Lapid wants to authorize the agreement without a debate in the Knesset and without the referendum required, according to law, if Israel gives up sovereign territory.