Omar al-Rassi, “Akhbar al-Yawm” agency

Lebanon could have stuck to line 29 and adjusted its borders at the UN

The demarcation file has taken a positive turn in recent weeks, as there is an optimistic atmosphere that suggests that the issue has ended and only the signature remains!.. "But the reality does not lead to much optimism, and we are still in a chapter of procrastination and wasting time", according to an expert in negotiation.

Starting from his approach that the Israeli and what he promotes cannot be trusted, the expert says via "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency: "it is necessary to return to the basis, how can any of the negotiating parties ask for an order and take it in full, and therefore how can Lebanon put the ceiling of line 23 and the entire Qana field without accepting any concession, while in the science of negotiation the ceiling from which any negotiations are launched, is debatable, and may be waived in order to reach a common formula acceptable to all parties.

He adds: Lebanon's proposal of "line 23 and Qana" and giving a two-week deadline for the American mediator to return to the Israeli position is not a sound strategy.

Here the expert was asked: Has Lebanon not renounced line 29, he answers: our problem in this area is that it cannot be renounced free of charge, in the sense that the renunciation of line 29 should have been related to or as a result of the other party's acceptance of line 23, but this did not happen, and Lebanon's announcement of its demand for line 23 appeared as a starting point for negotiations. So far, there has been no concession by the Israeli side, which adheres to line number one, which is the official line that Israel submitted to the United Nations, on the basis of which it objected to the licensing course that Lebanon had previously put forward. In fact, we have not yet seen a piece of paper indicating that the Israeli has renounced this position.

In the same context, the same expert explains that in the science of negotiation, any party should help the other until it comes to him, by giving him arguments that he can present to the public opinion he represents, showing that he is victorious in the negotiation, in other words, helping him to apply the theory of victory speech, and this was not provided by the Lebanese side. In addition, the expert doubts that the Israeli has accepted what Lebanon has put forward and is waiting for an agreement.

The expert pointed out that Lebanon could have adhered to line 29, especially since international law is on its side.

Regarding the pressures exerted by Hezbollah, the expert says: there is no doubt that Hezbollah's positions help in the file, especially in terms of exerting pressure on Israel, but Lebanon was supposed to amend its borders at the United Nations by adopting line 29 as its official border, but left its borders at 23 until the negotiation stage.

The expert concludes that the Israeli will not give a negative image in front of his audience that he is under threat and give Lebanon what it wants within a period of two weeks. He concludes: I wish, but this is not how the Israeli behaves!