In a recent column in the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Nadim Koteich, a Shi'ite Lebanese journalist and media figure known for his opposition to Hezbollah, wrote that this organization is holding Lebanon hostage and is beggaring the country, for instance by preventing it from reaching an agreement with Israel that would enable it to exploit its natural gas resources. 

Referring to the deal that is currently under discussion, for alleviating Lebanon's energy crisis by importing gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan, Koteich wondered why, as a country on the shores of the Mediterranean, Lebanon could drill for its own offshore gas.

What prevents this, he said, is Hezbollah's culture of perpetuating the conflict with Israel in order to justify its existence as an armed organization. 

It is this 'conflict first' strategy, he explained, that keeps Lebanon from reaching understandings with Israel on the demarcation of the maritime border, which would enable it to drill for gas.  

Koteich called on the Lebanese to free themselves of Hezbollah's grip and sign a peace agreement with Israel, since there is no ideological dispute between them but only technical problems that can be resolved.

It should be noted that this is not the first time Koteich has called for Lebanon to make peace with Israel.  In September 2020 he published a similar article under the headline "When Will There Be Peace Between Lebanon and Israel?", in which he advised the Lebanese to join the dynamic of peace in the region, and argued that peace with Israel was in Lebanon's interest, but that Hezbollah was standing in the way. Similar calls were also made by other Lebanese politicians and journalists over the last 18 months.