Israel Sets Maritime Borders

“We have already concluded an agreement on this issue with Cyprus…Lebanon, under pressure from Hizbullah, is looking for friction, but we will not give up any part of what is rightfully ours,” he said in a radio interview. The borders delineate an area thought to contain natural gas as well as oil reserves.

Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said the Lebanese government was being petty. “If they have complaints with nothing but goodwill and neighborly desire for coexistence, they must take steps just like any other civilized country and hold clarifications and negotiations with us,” he said. Landau added that Israel had constructed a professional agreement by working with “international law experts and experts from the Cypriot government.”

Israeli oil and gas fieldsin Mediterraneanwww.energypedia.com “The border between us and them has been unequivocally set—this is our legally and professionally-based opinion that will be placed on the table of the UN,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the economic benefits that could come from setting the borders. “The border delimits the state's economic rights, including the right to make use of natural resources at sea. The border Lebanon achieved [or rather, submitted to] in the UN is set significantly southward of the one offered by Israel, it conflicts with the borders set by Israel and Cyprus and, surprisingly, the borders Lebanon itself has set with Cyprus. Our goal is to set the lines in keeping with the principles of international law,” he said.