Israeli Security Cabinet OKs Lebanon maritime border deal

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Security Cabinet on Wednesday voted in favor of the U.S.-brokered maritime border deal with Lebanon, the first of several procedural hurdles before the agreement is formally adopted.

The snap vote by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s senior ministers came a day after he announced that Israel agreed to the terms of the landmark deal between the two countries that have formally been in a state of war since 1948.

Lebanon and Israel both claim around 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea that are home to offshore gas fields. At stake are rights over exploiting those undersea resources.

Under the agreement, the disputed waters would be divided along a line straddling the strategic “Qana” natural gas field.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the Security Cabinet voted unanimously in favor of ratifying the agreement, with one minister abstaining, setting up a vote by the full Cabinet.

Lebanon hopes gas exploration will help lift its country out of its spiraling economic crisis. Israel also hopes to exploit gas reserves while also easing tensions with its northern neighbor.

But the deal still faces numerous hurdles, including legal and political challenges in Israel.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition to freeze the deal because of its approval just weeks before Israel goes to its fifth elections in just under four years on Nov. 1.