beyond the fifa world cup. ♪ host: time for a check of the headlines at al jazeera. brazil's president jair bolsonaro and lula de silva are about to go head-to-head in a final debate before sending a positive relapse. opinion polls give so vanilla a slight lead -- de silva slightly. u.s. house speaker nancy posey's husband is undergone surgery after being attacked and san francisco. the suspect was believed to have shouted where is nancy.

at the time nancy pelosi was in washington dc. the 42-year-old suspect has been charged with homicide. pres. biden: there is too much violence, too much hatred, too much vitriol. and what makes us think that one party can talk about stolen elections, covid being a hoax, it is all a bunch of lies, and did not affect people who may not be so well-balanced? what makes us think that it is not going to corrode the political climate? enough is enough is enough. every person of good conscience needs to clearly and unambiguously stand up against the violence in our politics, regardless of what your politics are. host: 72 people have been killed

as a tropical storm lashes the fellow team -- philippines. the government says the number of casualties is likely to rise. fighting is intensifying in ukraine about the biggest eastern donbass region, with pressure shelling cities where there is a fierce battle for control. russian attacks continue to target ukraine's power grid. damage to infrastructure his current capacity to the capital kyiv by a third. exxonmobil has smashed financial forecast regarding its highest quarterly profit of $20 billion. those are the headlines. the news continues after inside story. thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ host: a maritime deal between

israel and lebanon is now in force. in tel aviv, it is seen by some as a de facto recognition of israel. in beirut, it is described as purely technical. so what are the political, security, and economic implications? this is inside story. ♪ hello, and welcome to the program. i am dareen abughaida. israel and lebanon have signed an agreement laying out there maritime border for the first time. the u.s. brokered-deal will enable both countries to explore for gas and oil offshore, and with elections only days away, israel's prime minister yair lapid has called it a major political achievement. he says the deal announced a -- in beirut recognizing israel.

lebanon describes it as an agreement that could potentially lift the country out of its economic crisis. our correspondent has this report from lebanon. correspondent: lines in the sea have been drawn. it is being described as a landmark agreement between countries technically in a state of war. lebanon and israel did not engage directly in the process. it involved years of negotiations mediated by the united states that gave countries guarantees if either challenges the agreement. >> a historic day showing what is possible under these circumstances to achieve an agreement that creates hope and economic opportunity and stability on both sides of the border. correspondent: there was no ceremony to mark the agreement. behind closed doors, the delegation signed separate documents, which were then given

to the united nations. the deal is based on what is known as line 23. gas from a perspective field will go to lebanon, but since a part of it lies outside of a demarcation line, israel will be given a share of profits. while the karish gas-field will remain in israel's waters, and extraction has already started. this allows israel its potential -- to increase its potential to transport gas to europe. there is a rising demand triggered by russia's invasion of ukraine. energy production in the eastern mediterranean has been growing as israel, egypt, jordan, and cyprus have worked together. >> you look for proximity, accessibility among other things, and so far geographically positioned as it is is proving to be the accessible corridor to europe, so they can start getting gas. correspondent: getting gas out of lebanon will take time. the deal enables international companies to begin exploration,

which could help lebanon with its crippling economic crisis. for lebanon this is about the economy. it insists the deal does not signify any form of normalization, nor is it a peace treaty. for israel, it is about security guarantees, and in the words of the prime minister, a political achievement through which lebanon recognizes israel. hezbollah rejected those claims. since the start of the negotiations, the iranian backed group adopted what many call a pragmatic approach. it is the most powerful political and military force in lebanon, and the state would need its stamp of approval. >> hezbollah considers what happened in the maritime border demarcation agreement a great victory for lebanon, the people, and the resistance. correspondent: the agreement may be limited to the maritime border, but the u.s. administration sees it differently.

president joe biden says it will harness vital new energy resources for the world. ♪ host: let's bring in our guests, joining us from beirut is niam, a professor of international affairs and diplomacy in lebanon, from tel aviv, jonathan rynhold of the department of political studies at the university, and joining us from paris, nabeel khoury, a former u.s. diplomat. thank you so much for your time with us on inside story. niam, over to your first. the lebanese side has been clear that this is not ideal that marks normalization, but rather a deal that allows both countries to move forward in terms of gas exploration. before we get into the political implications, i would like to get your take on the deal itself and whether you see any sticking points going forward? >> i think the deal itself was quite a success, furthering the

cap of mr. hochstein. both sides are determined to respect and implement the agreement, so on that level there is a fair amount of pragmatism, and the idea that this will last regardless of who is elected in israel or lebanon is because of the legal language in the agreement that binds the governments. i think every side involved, the three sides mainly, expect this agreement to hold. >> jonathan, do you see any challenges in implementing this agreement and sustaining it in good faith? >> i do not think so. of course, the broader conflict between israel and hezbollah remains, but while the opposition leader benjamin netanyahu did initially state

that he would not see this agreement as binding, given the agreement's popularity in israel and the public, he has backtracked on that. it has passed the cabinet, and i do not see any problems on the israeli side, and the fact that it is underwritten by american mediation and promises to both sides only strengthens the likelihood that it will remain intact. host: niam, in beirut, both sides portray this is a victory. what does the lebanese side stand to gain in your opinion? >> from the perspective of lebanon and particularly the lebanese government, this is a major milestone, a major achievement. in lebanon we have been prevented from exploring for oil and gas since the 1960's, and now after many years of hard

work diplomatically, this agreement came as a breakthrough. and there are some developments which have helped us. ironically, the russian invasion of ukraine and the conundrums that have sprung up over the division in europe against the west and the cutting of oil and gas supplies from russia to europe has created a big chaos, energy chaos in europe, so suddenly europe and the united states saw that it is in their interests to find alternative for russia's gas. russia's gas provides europe before the war, which was began on january 24 of this year. host: right. >> 150 billion cubic meters a

year. now it has gone down to less than 40 million cubic meters per year. host: let me just jump in for the sake of time and stick with you on one more question on the politics of all of this. as we have been hearing, the israeli prime minister is calling the deal a tremendous achievement, and basically saying lebanon has de facto recognized israel. the lebanese deny this, the lebanese president saying this does not constitute a peace agreement with israel and saying this is purely technical. how is this going to play out in lebanon with the lebanese focusing on the technical and economic side, while the israelis are saying this is de facto recognition? >> in reality, this agreement is a purely technical agreement, but nevertheless it has political and strategic implications in the medium and long run. technically this agreement does

not have political dimension, it has technical dimension aimed at clarifying the demarcation line, which came to be, the so-called line 23. north of line 23 has been recognized by israel as territory of lebanon and south of line 23 has been recognized by lebanon as territory of israel. this is a major milestone for lebanon that israel has recognized its right and its border, and more importantly the right of lebanon to explore and extract the oil and gas from its territorial water. previously, there were always prohibitions put on us by israel from exploring for natural gas or oil. this has been ended now.

this for us in lebanon or lebanese, this is a major victory. host: let me jump in and bring in nabeel. we heard from the leader of hezbollah, who also said the lebanese government had been careful to ensure that negotiations and protocols had no hint of, quote, nor with his bash normalization -- normalization with israel. in your opinion do you think it was a difficult balancing act for lebanon to strike a balance while negotiating this deal, because, of course, they have a decades long dispute with israel and they have been unable to tap into offshore energy resources. >> ironically, a very difficult time politically in lebanon. all three presidents, which mean all major factions in lebanon, agree this is a good deal and

did not put any spokes in the wheels in negotiations as they neared a critical end. it is understandable mr. lapid would use this politically to his advantage with an election coming up, but a cold, sober analysis, plus the american point of view. mr. hochstein never doubted from the beginning that this is about oil and gas. from the american president's point of view, this is about economics. this is about avoiding a war in the region, oil and gas not only from israel, which will supply unfair amount to europe, but also endangers gas and oil from egypt and cyprus. i do not think there were any illusions in washington or with

mr. hochstein that this is anything else other than gas, oil, and economics. host: jonathan, i will bring you in in just a few moments, but let me do one follow-up question. you say for the u.s. president this is about economics, but here is what biden did say. he said lebanon and israel have not only agreed on a maritime separation line but also have established a permanent maritime boundary. what do you read into that statement, and do you think the u.s. is going to try to continue to build on this going forward? >> again, politically for mr. biden, it serves to put the best political face possible on this, but, mr. hochstein was asked in a talk with the american

lebanese task force, now that you have done this why don't you go back and fix the land borders between israel and lebanon. he left -- laughed and said, thank you very much, but i do have a full-time job to go back to. at this point, the basic problems between lebanon and israel are all still there, and they are still dangerous. to draw a line in water is not the same as drawing a line on land. in water, most maritime borders are negotiated. there is no fast rule about them, and so the fact that the 2 sides were pragmatic enough to negotiate and conclude an agreement permanent or not, it does not change anything on the ground, the relationship between israel and hezbollah, with syria. mainly the relationship between israel and the palestinians is

in an uproar in jerusalem and the west bank. all of that is dangerous stuff, and lebanon is in the thick of it. host: jonathan in tel aviv, israel is holding upcoming elections, and the prime minister has made comments saying it is not every day an enemy country recognizes the state of israel in a written agreement. is this really how israeli officials are seeing this, jonathan, or are they just making these comments ahead of upcoming elections? and this has been turned into a political issue in tel aviv? >> i think first of all we have to recognize that this is more than a technical agreement without being de facto recognition of the state of israel or a step toward peace. and the reason we can say it is more than a technical agreement, is because lebanon asked for the borderline to be reflecting the

status quo. i.e., it is a purely technical, temporary issue. in fact, what they in the end agreed to was to recognize as the international maritime order, -- border, not only that, but for lebanon the most important point is where the gases, which is further out to sea. lebanon achieved most of its aims. israel's aims were on that part of the maritime border within 5 kilometers of the coastline, and that line runs according to line one, which was israel's line. so from israel's point of view the agreement has very great security advantages, because it is now tied israel and lebanon with the backing of the united states to an internationally recognized maritime board. -- border. and that will have implications

in terms of going forward, in terms of any conflict and who is to blame. and to crosses what. host: i do want to ask you about how you think this actually makes israel more secure, because those of the comments we are hearing out of tel aviv. back to my question on the politics behind this. how much of this is a political issue ahead of these elections coming up? >> so i think it is a political issue in that mr. netanyahu, the head of the opposition, one of his great benefits and advantages in elections is he is seen as very successful in managing israel's formal affairs, with watching tin with the abraham accords with bahrain and morocco, and prime minister lapid has achieved agreement which has not been seen by netanyahu for the past 10 years,

and he achieved it on terms that the defense establishment in israel consider to be very good, so that is a benefit. however, i doubt that it will make much difference, because for israelis going into the election, this gas deal is relatively marginal. had mr. netanyahu opposed this deal, it might have helped mr. lapid, but since he has backed away from that opposition since he is an avid reader of israeli polls, i think it is a marginal issue. it might help a very little bit, but the real key to israeli election results lie completely in other spheres. host: we were talking about security just a moment ago. what are the security implications for this and would lebanon have gotten security guarantees as a result of this deal, and if so, by whom? >> the reality is this agreement

came about primarily because of pressure of the united states on israel and on lebanon. as i mentioned earlier, due to the development in europe, russia, ukraine, all of these developments have affected the east mediterranean oil and gas fields and their discoveries and exploration accelerated. there is now western and american policy to fasten the exploration for gas in the eastern mediterranean, and this has come to work in our interest in lebanon. we have benefited from that, and in fact, israel will be benefiting from that, because if this agreement did not come about, hezbollah would have continued to threaten israeli installations in the mediterranean.

and in fact, when hezbollah sent the drones toward ships which are exploring for oil in the region, israel was terrified, because this was dangerous. it will cause a big problem for israel. there was an intersection of interests, which brought about this agreement. i want to emphasize, this agreement is political in a way, but primarily is a technical agreement. it does not have much political implications. previously we had negotiators in the united nations or the u.s. for truces in 2006 and 2000. those agreements do not have political imprecations between

lebanon and israel. host: let me just jump in and bring in nabeel, because i see that you do want to comment. telling us what you think about what the president of lebanon said, outlining the boundaries would prevent war. does this make war a less likely possibility? >> it certainly makes war less likely over oil and gas and over any accident that could happen at sea. since we brought in the elephant in the room, hezbollah, and everybody knew they were a silent participant in these negotiations. silent at the table of course, but there were actually not so silent. there was pragmatism on hezbollah's part, which was recognized by everybody.

saying if the lebanese government and its three presidents are satisfied with the agreement, we are fine with it. we are not going to oppose. they did have one condition, which was not well-publicized. there is a certain line that they draw, which is sort of perpendicular line going out at sea. they do not want to see any is -- israeli warships heading north of that line, and that for them is a security posture. as long as israel does not own any waters above that line and sends ships, then they are fine, but also from a security point of view. ok, we are not going to have war at sea, but who will stop israeli airplanes from flying over lebanon, who will stop any skirmishes that happen over land? so the prospect of war in general is still there.

we took away one element of it. host: let's bring in jonathan to comment on that. >> i think that is slightly disingenuous, in the sense that any time lebanon went to the deal they could have had one over the last 10 years. it was hezbollah that did not want one because they did not want the kind of agreement that they have now entered. and the reason that they are pragmatic is that their is standing in lebanon is bad. their position in syria is bad. the position of the iranian regime at home is bad. host: i wonder what you are basing your information on, jonathan. >> it is not very difficult to look at, there are demonstrations going on in tehran, the lebanese economy is in a worse situation than at any time anyone can remember. those are big issues.

host: those are big issues the lebanese government is having to deal with as a government. let's not talk about internal domestic lebanese politics, because we are just coming up to the end of the show. i would just like your final thoughts on whether you think from the israeli perspective this makes israel more secure? we have about one minute or so left on the program. >> i think it is telling that all three of us agree that it takes away one potential cause of the conflict that is not in anybody's interest. >> final word to naim in beirut. this is important and i want to raise this with you. is it clear how lebanon will actually manage potential profits from these discoveries, seeing as there is a severe financial crisis in the country? >> managing the potential revenues of profit, this is a complicated issue in lebanon,

but we hope it will be managed in a proper way. but this agreement has achieved a major outcome, which is giving the right to lebanon to begin in earnest to explore for oil and gas and to begin reducing oil -- producing oil and gas, which is by itself a very good achievement. and it will come to be realized in the next 2 or three years, total energy will be sending ships to lebanon territorial waters in a matter of two or three months maximum. that bodes well for us. host: we will have to leave it there, on that note thank you so much for joining us. we really appreciate your time. thank you for watching. you can see the program anytime, visit our website, aljazeera.com. for further discussion, you can go to our facebook page, facebook.com/ajinsidestory.

join the conversation on twitter. our handle is ajinsidestory. from myself and the whole team here in doha, thanks for watching. bye-bye for now. ♪

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lydia feng: chinese youth are living in a brave new world. they're richer, better educated, and more connected than ever before. but they're also under constant pressure to compete and to conform. male: [speaking in foreign language] zhao jia: [speaking in foreign language] male: [speaking in foreign language] lydia: we've collaborated with chinese filmmakers to bring you three intimate stories of young people