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BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Monday criticized the militant group Hezbollah for sending three unmanned plane over an Israeli fuel set up final week, saying it was an unnecessarily dangerous motion.
Najib Mikati’s remark got here two days after Hezbollah launched three drones over the Karish fuel area within the Mediterranean Sea.
The Israeli navy stated on Saturday stated that it has shot down the three drones, earlier than Hezbollah issued an announcement saying they have been unarmed and have been despatched on a reconnaissance mission. “The mission was completed and the message was acquired,” Hezbollah stated.
Lebanon claims the Karish fuel area is disputed territory beneath ongoing maritime border negotiations, whereas Israel says it lies inside its internationally acknowledged financial waters.
“Lebanon believes that any actions exterior the state’s framework and diplomatic context whereas negotiations are going down is unacceptable and exposes it to pointless dangers,” Overseas Minister Abdallah Bouhabib stated, citing Mikati’s assertion.
Israel and Hezbollah are bitter enemies that fought a monthlong struggle in the summertime of 2006. Israel considers the group its most severe quick menace, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed toward Israel.
The incident within the Karish fuel area occurred quickly after U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein not too long ago visited Lebanese and Israeli officers, as talks have been advancing.
Mikati on Saturday advised reporters that Lebanon had acquired “encouraging data” relating to the border dispute, however refused to remark till after he receives a “written official response to the ideas by the Lebanese aspect.”
Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to find out their maritime borders commenced in October 2020, when the 2 sides held oblique U.S.-mediated talks in southern Lebanon. Since taking on the mediation from late 2021, Hochstein has resorted to shuttle diplomacy with visits to each Beirut and Jerusalem.
The 2 international locations, which have been formally at struggle since Israel’s creation in 1948, each declare some 860 sq. kilometers (330 sq. miles) of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon hopes to take advantage of offshore fuel reserves because it grapples with the worst financial disaster in its trendy historical past.
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