Is the track of demarcating the southern land borders progressing?
Recent developments in the south, as well as the stances of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, where they announced Lebanon's readiness to proceed with the demarcation and that Israel should withdraw from the Shebaa Farms, Kfar Shouba Hills, and the northern part of the town of Ghajar, give momentum to this track and shape Lebanon's desired vision for any demarcation.
This article is originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper al-Modon.
On the other hand, positions were issued, notably by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stating that there is no such thing as demarcation, as the borders were initially drawn in the 1920s and were fixed in the 1949 armistice agreement. Anything that happened afterward was Israeli aggression; thus, the disputed points are considered occupied by the Israeli enemy, and it must withdraw from them.
The First Demarcation:
In the year 2000, following the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from southern Lebanon, the Blue Line was drawn through indirect negotiations.
However, specific points remained unresolved, including the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills. The northern part of the town of Ghajar is under Lebanese sovereignty despite Israeli forces having entered it during the July 2006 war.
Over the years, Israel has been constructing a barrier on the southern border with Lebanon. During that period, two noteworthy points are the disputes and incidents between the Lebanese Army and Israeli forces during the barrier construction.
The Lebanese Army forced Israeli forces to retreat from several points. Secondly, after the barrier construction was completed, Israel proposed demarcating the land borders, which Lebanon rejected, insisting on parallel demarcation of both the land and maritime boundaries.
Maritime demarcation negotiations reached an agreement, except for point b1, which remained pending the land negotiations and is the point Lebanon demands Israel to withdraw from.
13 Points:
Against the backdrop of recent tensions in the south, which are ongoing, the UN took action and formed a Lebanese committee to work with the UN on identifying the disputed points and finding a solution.
In parallel, the trilateral committee consisting of Lebanese Army officers, UNIFIL officials, and Israeli officers continues to address 13 disputed points that Lebanon reserves the right to.
These points extend from the town of Naqoura to the east of Marjayoun. An initial meeting of the trilateral committee was scheduled to be held in Naqoura today, Monday, to discuss the remaining unresolved points. Still, there are indications that the Israelis will not attend due to security and military concerns. The UN is continuing the necessary communications to arrange this meeting.
The disputed points fall into two categories. The first category, "Basket A," includes points within approximately 25 meters and below the Blue Line from the Lebanese side. They start with point b1, also known as Ras Naqoura, which was a significant point in the maritime demarcation process. However, it was not demarcated at that time.
Lebanon believes that the Israeli enemy is encroaching upon this area by 17 meters. The other points in Basket A include Alma al-Shaab, al-Bustan, Maroun al-Ras, Yaroun, and al-Odeisseh-Kafr Kila.
As for the second category, known as "Basket B," it includes points that extend more than 25 meters into Lebanese territory, including al-Manara-al Wazzani, Rmeish, Blida, al-Odeisseh, a;-Mtoleh, al-Wazani.
In the past, an agreement was reached on resolving 7 out of the 13 points, the most significant being those located adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Misgav Am.
After the agreement, it is expected to be announced, and the modified coordinates sent separately by each party to the UN for registration, similar to what occurred with the maritime demarcation file. This process can be lengthy and will likely be interconnected with several other issues.