The "Jerusalem Post" newspaper reported that Israel is preparing to respond to raising the ceiling of Lebanese demands in the file of maritime border demarcation, through "extreme expansion" of the area claimed by Israel.

The newspaper published a new map prepared by the Israeli Ministry of Energy, showing what Israel called "Line 310", or the Red Line, which extends further to the north than Israel's current negotiating position, which is the Blue Line on the map.

The blue and green lines on the map represent the official positions of Lebanon and Israel, as they were presented to the United Nations, as the disputed area starts from the borders of the two countries on the Mediterranean and has an area of ​​5 to 6 km. The Hebrew newspaper pointed out that the disputed area will originally be about 2% of Israel's economic waters.

Lebanon began indirect talks with Israel, with US mediation, in October, for the first time in 30 years, in the hope that settling the borders would encourage more gas exploration in the region, as Israel is already pumping large quantities of gas from the Mediterranean. But Lebanon has not yet done so.

After 4 rounds of talks, negotiations stopped in November, and Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz accused Lebanon of "changing its position 7 times and presenting positions that amount to provocation," as he put it.

During the negotiations, Lebanon raised the ceiling of its demands with a line that extends further to the south, increasing the disputed area from about 860 square kilometers to 2,300 kilometers, and as a result, Steinitz ordered Israel to present "extremist demands of its own" to confront the Lebanese allegations, and the Ministry of Energy drew the new map. .

A source in the Israeli Ministry of Energy said yesterday, Monday, that "this was not our original intention, but the moment Lebanon moved forward in presenting its line, we were prepared to present our line, which goes beyond - in line with their line - hundreds of kilometers of Lebanese economic waters."

"The new line does not promote a solution, but it creates coherence," the source said.

The new Israeli line depends on the maritime border between Cyprus and Lebanon, according to the Hebrew newspaper.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has yet to sign the decree expanding Lebanon's maritime borders and submitting the new map to the United Nations, and as such, Israel withheld its map, "out of a genuine desire to give an opportunity to continue negotiations," according to the source in the Israeli Energy Ministry.