EXCLUSIVE Looped in 'line by line', Hezbollah shows pragmatic side in Lebanon-Israel deal - Reuters.com

BEIRUT, Oct 18 (Reuters) - (This Oct. 18 communicative has been corrected to clarify that Atallah is the founding manager of The Policy Initiative deliberation tank, not enforcement manager of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies successful paragraph 14)

Before Lebanon's authorities approved a U.S.-brokered woody settling a decades-long maritime bound quality with Israel, the almighty Hezbollah had scrutinized the last draught enactment by enactment and fixed a important motion of acceptance.

Branded a violent radical by Washington and a sworn force of Israel, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was surely obscurity adjacent the negotiating country during U.S. shuttle diplomacy which clinched the landmark deal past week.

But down the scenes, the heavy equipped radical was being briefed connected the details and expressing its views adjacent arsenic it threatened subject enactment were Lebanon's interests not secured, according to sources acquainted with Hezbollah's thinking, a Lebanese authoritative and a Western root acquainted with the process.

An unprecedented compromise betwixt the force states, the woody opens the mode for offshore vigor exploration and defuses 1 root of imaginable struggle betwixt Israel and Hezbollah.

Observers accidental the woody was each the much important for the pragmatism shown by Hezbollah, pointing to the shifting priorities of a radical acceptable up 4 decades agone by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to combat Israel.

"The Hezbollah enactment scrutinized the knowing enactment by enactment earlier agreeing to it," said 1 of the sources acquainted with the group's thinking.

After spending overmuch of the past decennary deploying fighters and subject expertise crossed the Middle East to assistance Iran's allies, notably President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Hezbollah's absorption is contiguous squarely connected Lebanon - a state successful heavy crisis.

More progressive than ever successful authorities affairs, Hezbollah has said offshore lipid and state are the lone mode for Lebanon to look from a devastating fiscal meltdown that has deed each Lebanese hard, including its ample Shi'ite constituency.

Though Hezbollah says it does not fearfulness warfare with Israel, the radical has besides said it does not question 1 with a formidable foe which staged large invasions of Lebanon successful 1978 and 1982.

Lebanon took years to rebuild from the past warfare successful 2006 - overmuch of the measure paid by Gulf Arabs who person since shunned Beirut due to the fact that of Hezbollah's sway. And portion Tehran's enactment remains strong, Western sanctions person squeezed the magnitude of currency Iran tin nonstop the group.

'HAVOC' OR PRAGMATISM

An offshore vigor find - portion not capable connected its ain to resoluteness Lebanon's heavy economical problems - would beryllium a large boon, providing severely needed hard currency and perchance 1 time easing crippling blackouts.

Two Hezbollah lawmakers told Reuters the radical was unfastened to the thought of a woody arsenic a pathway to alleviate immoderate of Lebanon’s economical woes.

"They had to woody with it pragmatically alternatively of ideologically," said Sami Atallah, founding manager of The Policy Initiative deliberation tank, describing Hezbollah's relation arsenic critical. "They knew they had the powerfulness to origin havoc if they wanted to – but it would person travel astatine specified a precocious cost."

U.S. proposals were communicated to Hezbollah's enactment by elder Lebanese information authoritative Abbas Ibrahim, who besides met U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, according to the Lebanese authoritative and the Western root acquainted with the process.

At 1 point, Hezbollah conveyed its vexation astatine the dilatory gait of the talks to Hochstein via Ibrahim, the Western root said.

Asked astir Hezbollah's role, the caput of its media bureau Mohamed Afif said the authorities had carried retired the negotiations and "we stood down it". "Our interest was for Lebanon to unafraid its rights to its resources," helium said.

Reuters could not instantly scope Ibrahim's bureau for comment. The U.S. State Department did not respond to emailed questions connected the relationship of Hochstein's contacts with Ibrahim.

A senior U.S. administration authoritative has said the negotiations were carried retired with the sovereign enactment of Lebanon and did not see discussions with Hezbollah.

The urgency of Hochstein's ngo accrued successful June erstwhile an Israeli state rig arrived offshore to research successful the Karish tract - waters claimed by Lebanon but which Israel said were successful its exclusive economical zone.

On July 2, Hezbollah sent 3 unarmed drones flying implicit the Karish field. They were intercepted by the Israeli military.

Hezbollah claimed it arsenic a amusement of unit and its allies successful Lebanon credited the group's subject posturing with wringing concessions from Israel - a assertion wholly denied by Israel.

A U.S. authoritative told Reuters Hezbollah had astir "killed the woody with their provocative rhetoric and actions threatening war". "No 1 enactment tin - oregon should - assertion victory."

PEACE STILL FAR OFF

Hezbollah gave the greenlight to arguable details.

These included a tacit motion to arrangements that volition pb to Israel getting a portion of revenues from the Qana imaginable - which Lebanon deemed to beryllium wholly successful its waters, but which Israel said was partially successful its.

The diplomatic workaround requires France's TotalEnergies - acceptable to transportation retired exploration connected behalf of Lebanon - to marque a abstracted woody with Israel by which it gets a information of royalties, bypassing immoderate Lebanese involvement, person Gebran Bassil, who intimately followed the talks, told Reuters.

A spokesperson from TotalEnergies said they had nary comment.

French officials met Hezbollah representatives astir the wide agreement, 3 French diplomatic sources said.

The French overseas ministry said France actively contributed to the agreement, "in peculiar by passing messages betwixt the antithetic parties, successful conjunction with the American mediator".

While the stars whitethorn person aligned to bring astir this deal, bid remains a distant imaginable betwixt states astatine likelihood implicit galore issues, and with Hezbollah's power profoundly entrenched successful Beirut.

But much than 16 years since the past war, the benefits brought from immoderate state accumulation could assistance stave disconnected different one. "Once the pipes are successful the water, warfare becomes a agelong mode away," said a root acquainted with Hezbollah's thinking.

Additional reporting by John Irish and Benjamin Mallet successful Paris; and Editing by Tom Perry, Editing by William Maclean

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