Pompeo: Negotiation on maritime borders has potential to yield increased stability, security and prosperity for Lebanon, Israel

Mike Pompeo on Thursday became the first US secretary of state to visit an Israeli West Bank settlement and the Golan Heights.

During his visit, he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whereby he tackled the discussions held between Lebanon and Israel over the maritime boundaries.

“I also conveyed to the Prime Minister our support for the decision by the Governments of Israel and Lebanon to begin discussions on the maritime boundary, for which we are acting as a mediator and facilitator.  We hope that this long-standing dispute can be resolved.  The negotiation has the potential to yield increased stability, security, and prosperity for both Israeli citizens and those in Lebanon as well,” Pompeo said.

On another note, Pompeo stressed that the U.S. supported the renewal of the UNIFIL mission, but demanded some important conditions, and for good reason.

“For far too long, Hezbollah has enjoyed near-total freedom of movement through UNIFIL’s mandated areas of control, and with Iran’s support, has built up an arsenal of weapons, fired missiles into Israel, dug attack tunnels underneath the Lebanon-Israel border, and more,” Pompeo went on by saying.

“The United States cannot abide by these actions against our trusted friend. The most recent renewal of the mandate included new reporting requirements on those attacks against peacekeepers and investigations of access denials.  We are hopeful that these important steps will ensure UNIFIL can be a multilateral mission that actually fulfills its mandate.  If not, we’ll have to move in a different direction,” he concluded by saying.