Lebanon flotilla rallies at Israel sea border ahead of talks

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese protesters have sailed down the country’s coast in dozens of fishing boats and yachts toward Israel, days before a U.S. envoy is expected in Beirut to continue mediating in a maritime border dispute between the two countries. Sunday’s flotilla carried Lebanese flags and banners with slogans demanding the cash-strapped country’s right to oil and gas fields on the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon and Israel, which have been officially at war since the latter’s creation in 1948, both claim an area of some 860 square kilometers, or about 330 square miles, of the Mediterranean. Senior adviser for energy security at the U.S. State Department Amos Hochstein has shuttled between Beirut and Jerusalem to mediate the talks.