Israel gave its preliminary nod on Sunday to a draft US-brokered deal demarcating a maritime border with Lebanon that could lead to possible profit-sharing from future gas production by Beirut in a long-disputed Mediterranean prospect. Hoping to defuse one source of conflict between the enemy countries and perhaps prod them toward accommodation, US envoy Amos Hochstein last week submitted a new proposal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration. Lebanese President Michel Aoun received a letter from US mediator Amos Hochstein regarding proposals for the demarcation of a maritime b…