US envoy talks with Lebanese on border dispute with Israel

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. envoy mediating between Lebanon and Israel over their disputed maritime border has met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and discussed ways of reaching a solution amid rising tension along the tense border. Amos Hochstein’s meetings in Beirut on Tuesday followed an invitation by the Lebanese government after Israel set up a gas rig at its designated location at the Karish field. Israel says the field is part of its exclusive economic zone while Lebanon insists it is in a disputed area. Israel and Lebanon, which have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948, both claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea.