Attack on Gaza delayed maritime border talks with Israel, says Lebanon

By Wassim Seif El Din

BEIRUT (AA) - Talks between Lebanon and Israel to demarcate their maritime border have stalled over Tel Aviv's latest barrage of attacks on the Gaza Strip, a Lebanese lawmaker said on Thursday.

"The attack on the Gaza Strip delayed the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel," deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab said in a press conference in Beirut following a meeting with President Michel Aoun.

Bou Saab also underlined that the deadline for the demarcation talks mediated by the US would expire by September, according to a statement released by the presidential information office.

"The American mediator, Amos Hochstein, proceeded to visit Israel after leaving Beirut last Monday and we are in contact with him," he added.

Three days of military confrontation erupted on Friday between the Israeli army and the Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip last week ending in a cease-fire brokered by Egypt.

On Aug. 2, the Israeli Walla news website reported that Hochstein had arrived in Israel where he "met with Israeli negotiators to bridge the remaining gaps" with Beirut.

Lebanon and Israel dispute an 860 square kilometer (332 square mile) offshore area rich in oil and gas. The two sides had previously engaged in indirect negotiations to demarcate the border, mediated by the US.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report.