The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees of the Libyan Parliament reiterated their rejection of Egypt’s unilateral demarcation of the western maritime borders. In a joint statement, the two committees considered this declaration “an unacceptable violation of Libyan sovereignty.” The committees expressed their surprise at Egypt’s declaration, without any prior consultations. They stated that “this step at this difficult time that the country is going through is a violation of Libyan interests in the Mediterranean. This is an unfair demarcation under international law, which clearly encroaches on the Libyan maritime borders.” They confirmed their rejection of the decision, and renewed their request that Cairo immediately retract its declaration. They said the move “harms the historical relations between the two countries, as Egypt is expected to take into account the political circumstances that Libya is going through.” The committees stressed that “any demarcation should be through negotiations that guarantee the mutual interests of the two countries, and in accordance with the principles of the UN and the Laws of the Sea.” Separately, Libyan parliamentary spokesman Abdullah Bilheg denied what was reported about closing parliamentary headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi. “We warn all media not to be drawn into this false news,” said Bilheg. Moreover, sources close to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army, which is stationed in the east of the country, denied intentions for announcing the separation of the eastern region from western Libya. Some had claimed that Haftar wanted to install himself as a military ruler of the Cyrenaica region. Hours before Haftar’s Independence Day speech, in Al-Kish Square in the eastern city of Benghazi, his opponents said that he was about to announce the disengagement or separation of eastern and southern Libya from Tripoli. Some also predicted that the leader would announce the closure of oil fields and ports.