 agreement of Israel to the agreement of the maritime agreement between Israel and Lebanon. And then we deposited to the UN the coordination that actually includes this maritime line. Let me begin with the reading out the Hebrew translation of my statement, and later on I will say the same in English. We would like to express our vote of thanks to the special envoy Amos Avstein and his team for the tireless day and night efforts that enabled us to reach this maritime agreement between Israel and the Republic of Lebanon. On behalf of the government of Israel, please convey our thanks to President Biden and the Administrating for their long-term efforts. We congratulate the ambassadors, and we'd like to thank the envoy of the UN and the UNIFIL in Nakoura. We are actually welcoming the Dr. Antog Shoker, the head of the negotiation team of Lebanon. And to conclude, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Israeli negotiation team for its dedication in the last few months. Today is a very significant day. In signing the agreement, we are determining the maritime border for the natural gas across the borders. This is a fair and permanent solution for the maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon. It serves the interests of both sides, enables Israel to protect its citizens. And beyond the contribution to the security of the two states, we believe that it will help to prolong the stability in the area. We appreciated the Lebanese efforts to reach the agreement, and with which both nations, many years of peace and stability and prosperity, with the help of God and Inshallah. That's what I said, and I'd like to make another comment. And with my hat as the Director-General of the Energy Ministry, we see how energy has become such an important thing in the diplomacy world, what we call the energy diplomacy. You can see it, how in certain places energy is becoming rapprochement between nations even here in the Middle East, but in other places energy is becoming a factor of dispute. And I think that what happened today in La Cura, we proved that even between enemy countries, joint energetic interests can create ties between nations, and we hope it continues. I'd like to convey on behalf of the negotiation team our thanks to the Prime Minister Lapid and to the Minister Al-Harrar, who sent us here to the head of the National Security Council, Dr. Eyal Chulata, who led the negotiations, and the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, Ush-Peis, for their wonderful work, Udi Adheri, the former energy CO, who led it in the last two years, the State of Israel owes him a big debt for his wonderful job, and the entire professional team, some of them are here from the various ministry, Foreign Office, Justice, Energy, the Ministry of Defense, IDF, and all the various security bodies. I know that there's a tendency sometimes to laugh at civil servants, but what these people did in the last two years really deserves the appreciation of each and every of Israeli citizens. Another vote of thanks to our spouses in the last month. They haven't seen us at all, and I think they deserve a vote of thanks from all of us for this event. We really hope and we're really proud that we serve the State of Israel in this event today, and we wish all of us, as I said, many years of quiet, prosperity, and peace with the help of God. Thank you. Good afternoon. With your permission, I would read the statement that I just read in the Unifil based in Nakoura when we deposit the maritime agreement between Israel and Lebanon. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you, Special Envoy Hochstein and your team for your effort as facilitator and mediator for this negotiation. Days, nights, weekends, and holidays, which have enabled us to achieve this maritime agreement between the State of Israel and the Republic of Lebanon. On behalf of the Government of Israel, please convey our appreciation to President Biden and the whole administration for their effort over the years in mediating this dispute. We are glad to welcome Ambassador Shai and Ambassador Grillo to mark this day with us. We would also like to thank the UN Special Envoy to Lebanon and Unifil for hosting us here. I would also like to greet the head of the Lebanese delegation, Dr. Antoine Shokair, Director General of the Presidency and his team. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity and thank our dedicated and professional negotiation team for their relentless effort in the past month. Today is a significant day. By signing this agreement, we delimit our maritime boundary, announce the end of the maritime dispute, and agree on a way forward of developing the cross-border prospect. This agreement constitutes an equitable and permanent solution to the maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon. As such, it serves the interest of both countries and allows Israel to protect its citizens and its economic assets. Not only will this contribute to the security and economy of both Israel and Lebanon, we believe it will help provide strategic stability and prosperity to our region. We appreciate the Lebanese effort to reach an agreement and wish the people of Israel and the people of Lebanon years of quiet, peace, and prosperity. With God's help, Be'ezrat Hashem, inshallah. Thank you very much. The Ministry of Energy, and I call upon the Ambassador Aliza Bin Nun, the head of the Strategic System of the Foreign Ministry. Good evening. Yes, it is an historic moment. Just a few moments ago, we crossed the border and the agreement is now international, valid, committing. Personally, I must say that for me it was really exciting because I grew up here in Aharia very close and Lebanon was always in a different context than today. The fact that we reached a maritime agreement with Lebanon puts things, I think, in a more positive light with a lot of hope for the future. So, with your permission, let me read out what I prepared. The historic agreement we reached with the agreement of both sides is a permanent and fair agreement that ends the maritime dispute between us and Lebanon. The agreement for the first time is an official recognition of an enemy country on the sovereign border of Israel, and that strengthens the status of Israel in the region and beyond. The agreement is an example for cooperation, a new economic model, and it will enable us to have agreements with other countries, even those that, for the moment, have not established relations with Israel. This agreement gained an international support also in the countries of the Middle East and even the Council of the UN agreed. We are an important player in the region and today we are establishing ourselves as a responsible factor that contributes to the stability in the Middle East and the energetic security of Europe. I'd like to join the former speaker and to thank on behalf of the Foreign Office to the United States and the broker Amos Hochstein, who really worked very hard with his team in order to reach this day. We also have to mention and to thank the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, for the French involvement in this agreement. This important agreement also strengthens the security of the northern border in Israel, and it contributes to stability on the border. It retains the deterrence and defense of the state of Israel, and in that it is a definitely strategic, political, and security interest of Israel. It also anchors the economic rights of Israel that will get a full response and for its efforts. Today this agreement has a potential to improve the economic situation of Lebanon, and we hope this happens. Israel is interested in Lebanon as a stable, prosperous neighbor and not serving Hezbollah and Iran. In view of that, the Lebanese gas rig will contribute to the strategy in the area and will be an economic boost for Lebanon and reduce Lebanese dependence on Iran. I also want to thank the one who led this negotiation, the Director General of the Energy Ministry and the former one and the teams, and especially, especially, I want to thank my colleagues in the Foreign Ministry, Amit, where is he? There he is, from our legal department, of course, to the CEO and everybody who worked for 10 years. It's already 10 years that this negotiation has been going on to reach this moment. Thank you very much. This is truly an historical and emotional moment. The delegation just crossed the border from Lebanon back to Israel after signing here the maritime agreement, an internationally binding agreement between Lebanon and Israel. In this agreement, we determined the maritime boundary between the two countries as well as found a way mutually agreed upon to utilize the gas reserves shared by us. The agreement that has been signed today between Israel and Lebanon constitutes official recognition by an enemy state of Israel's sovereign border. The strategic impact of this is strengthening of Israel's position in the region and beyond. The agreement is a legally binding international agreement that defines the maritime boundary between the two countries. As such, it constitutes a recognized mutually agreed upon permanent and equitable international border, thus officially ending the maritime conflict between Israel and Lebanon. This agreement is an example of a new economic political reality which possesses the ability to promote similar agreements with other countries, including those that have not yet established official diplomatic relations with Israel. The agreement has been received with broad international support, including from countries of the Middle East, that demonstrates how such an agreement can contribute to regional stability. In addition, agreement this agreement may also contribute to enhancing Europe's energy security. This historic agreement strengthens security of the residents of the northern part of Israel and increases the long-term stability of this region while preserving the deterrence and defense capabilities of the state of Israel. Israel is interested in seeing Lebanon as the free, stable, and prosperous neighbor that does not serve the will of Hezbollah and Iran. In light of this, the establishment of a Lebanese gas rig will hopefully contribute to regional stability to serve as an energetic lifeline for Lebanon and to reduce economic dependence on foreign actors. The agreement anchors the economic right of Israel, which will receive full economic compensation for its rights in the cross-bound reservoir. This agreement was reached thanks to intensive American mediation efforts. The continued American commitment to and involved in the region is a strategic interest of the state of Israel. President Biden's commitment to the process was decisive a decisive factor in the success of the negotiations. We must also thank mediator Amos Hochstein, who worked tirelessly for a prolonged period of time so that we could reach we reach this day. We would also like to express our gratitude to the French government for their vital assistance and especially to the French president. And finally, this agreement succeeds due to the relentless, succeeded due to the relentless and tireless work of the team that was accompanying these negotiations and the special thanks I would like to express to my colleague at the foreign ministry, the director general and the people again I'm looking for from our legal department. Thank you very much. Thank you. And now I call upon deputy director of the national security council. Hello, everybody. Definitely, we experienced something very important, significant and exciting. I'd like to mention that the agreement is a result of intensive work of the interoffice team led by pay MLP, the head of the national security and the negotiation team of the foreign office ministry of justice, defense and IDF. We're very proud of the result after an effort that has brought upon the returnment of Israeli interest. We're talking about an international binding agreement with a lot of significance. It strengthens the security of Israel. It is strategic achievement that will bring about stability on the border with Lebanon and in the north in general. We also hope that the agreement will bring about an improvement in the economic situation of Lebanon when it starts extracting natural gas. It was agreed upon after the leading of the United States. It's time to thank Amos Oxten again for having brought us to this minute and all the negotiation teams that have worked for years. Thank you very much. This agreement is the result of intensive work by the interministerial team led by Prime Minister Lapid. You are watching the Israeli delegation live from Rojhaniqra in the north of Israel delivering their live statements from the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon. We heard comments about energy diplomacy and energy security being part of the future. Thanking Amos Oxten, thanking the Biden administration, thanking France for their contribution as well and talking about the benefits for both Lebanon and for Israel, talking about a fair and permanent solution which also enables Israel to protect its citizens and reduces Lebanon's need to have dependence on foreign actors. Lots to unpack here with me in studio. Still our panel, Dr. Fadi Ismail, Owen Ultiman and Daniel Sheik. And I'm going to start this time with you. Daniel, your thoughts about the thanks, the gravitas of this moment and what is being praised and lauded right now as we look at this historic moment unfolding in Rojhaniqra? Well, you know, Benita, nothing really surprising. A lot of praise upon the American administration and personally Amos Oxten who really, I mean, he put in weeks and months of intensive work mention of the French contribution too. And every each of the speakers underlines the three dimensions of this agreement, the political one, the economic one and the security one in different doses. To be honest, I would actually be more curious to hear what was said at the parallel ceremony on the Lebanese side, which I probably will later later today get a readout. I, you know, I can also more or less guess who will take credit for this. But as much as I think that on the Israeli side in the next few days, this going to die down because it's not really going to have a huge impact on the result of the election, Israeli voters don't really make their choices according to foreign policy successes. Although it's true that Prime Minister Lapid got his moment of several hours of very positive pictures. And that is not a bad thing. But you know, well, we're not talking elections here. But on the Lebanese side, we might be at the threshold of a very, very long period of uncertainty and possibly political chaos. So I wonder how this is going to play into into the political situation in Lebanon. Yeah, also true. But I have a question left with after the ceremony. I wonder with Dennis, where was the minister? I mean, I think it's wonderful that civil servants are given the stage. People who work hard, often work in the shadows are professional. I think it's wonderful that they were able to go to the podium. But on the other hand, if this agreement is as important as the government says it is, if it has the kind of political significance that's being inscribed to it, where is the minister? Which one? Karina L. R., for example, the energy minister. I mean, of course, your Lapid himself had his time to speak about this this morning, so I can understand what he was talking about. My guess is that it was probably agreed with the UN and what the level of representation would be. So the minister would not be able to enter the room. But she could still come to the podium. Yeah, but that's a little bit awkward to have a minister come just to make a statement while everybody else did the job. I, you know, as if I were the chief of staff of Mrs. El Haral, I would probably, I would probably tell her. Yeah, I disagree. And I, again, as a former civil servant, I think it's a very good thing that the people who did the work get the credit. Actually, I agree with Ambassador. I've been in such ceremonies in my life on the government side and protocol and those things is very, very strict. The diplomats teach us the protocol who is supposed to be where, in which room, when, what do you mean? I want to, I want to strengthen another point. I just want to answer you, Mr. Ambassador. As far as the Lebanese side, the ceremonies are already over. They tweeted it twice and that's it. That's it. It's over. They're not going to talk about it from the government standpoint. No speeches, no mics, no nothing like that. So the rest assured you haven't missed anything. It fits their theory in the case, obviously. But again, listen, I guess I respectfully disagree. I think if it's given this importance, it seems to me awkward not to have the kind of level of representation that would be equal to the kind of case that the government is making. But again, obviously a significant moment for Israel. Obviously it's interpreted differently by the two sides and the differences in the ceremonies is obviously telling in that respect. But at the end of the day, the fact that the deal was done is more important than anything else against, again, against the odds. There's some very, very tough mediation. Again, don't forget, these are negotiations that had their ups and downs. Success was certainly not.