Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati told Reuters by phone on Wednesday that US guarantees would protect a maritime border deal with Israel should Israel's conservative former premier Benjamin Netanyahu win a majority in elections. Netanyahu had threatened to "neutralize" the agreement, which came into force in October after years of indirect US-brokered talks and set out the sea boundary between the two enemy states.
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Under the new deal, Israel agreed to hand over the disputed area, which includes some territorial waters but mainly economic waters. In exchange, it would get Lebanese "permanent" recognition of its existing border with the enemy state near the shore, as well as a share of the revenue from gas extraction in a field that lies in Lebanese waters if enough gas is found to have it extracted. The deal also includes a letter of guarantees the US has agreed to issue a letter from President Joe Biden in which he affirmed his administration's commitment to Israel's economic and security rights contained in the new agreement. According to some reports it also reiterates that the US will back Israel if it has to take action to enforce the deal.
Netanyahu appeared well placed to return to power as exit polls following Tuesday's election showed his right-wing bloc heading for a narrow majority lifted by a strong showing from his far-right allies. He has been one of the main opponents of the deal, which had been finalized during final stages of the campaign by Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Netanyahu said Lapid had no authority to do the deal because he was heading a transitional government.
Israel's longest-serving premier, on trial over corruption charges which he denies, was poised to take a narrow majority of 61 or 62 of the Knesset's 120 seats, according to Israeli television exit polls. "It's a good start," Netanyahu, 73, said in a video broadcast by Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11, but added that exit polls were not the real count. A final result is not expected until later in the week, and wrangling broke out immediately with Netanyahu's Likud party warning of possible attempts to falsify the results.
Israel's fifth election in less than four years exasperated many voters, but turnout was reported at the highest levels since 1999 during some parts of the day. The campaign was shaken up by firebrand West Bank settler Itamar Ben-Gvir and his ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism list, now poised to be the third-largest party in parliament after surging in from the political margins.
"The time has come that we go back to being in charge of our country!" Ben-Gvir said in a speech punctuated by chants of "Death to Terrorists" from hundreds of cheering supporters. Netanyahu's record 12-year consecutive reign ended in June 2021 when Center-Left candidate Lapid and his coalition partner Naftali Bennett managed to stitch together an alliance that included an Arab party for the first time.
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