Israel to Seek U.N. Opinion on Maritime Border Spat
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Israel is to seek a U.N. opinion on its maritime borders with Lebanon in the Mediterranean, where lucrative offshore gas fields have been found, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
"We will soon be presenting the United Nations headquarters in New York with our position on our maritime borders," Lieberman told Israeli public radio.
"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 added.
Israel has been moving to develop several large offshore natural gas fields in the Mediterranean that it hopes could help it to become an energy exporter.
But its development plans have stirred controversy with Lebanon, which argues the gas fields lie inside its territorial waters.
Israel does not have officially demarcated maritime borders with Lebanon, and the two nations remain technically at war.
But Lieberman said the Jewish state had "very strong arguments under international law" for its position, adding that the foreign and justice ministries had been working together to set them out.
A senior Israeli official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that at their regular cabinet meeting on Sunday ministers would endorse a map of Israel's maritime borders in the Mediterranean to be presented to the U.N.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli claim would include some areas that Lebanon claimed in its submission to the U.N. in August.
The two biggest known offshore fields, Tamar and Leviathan, lie off Israel's northern city of Haifa.
Tamar is believed to hold at least 8.4 trillion cubic feet of gas (238 billion cubic meters), while Leviathan is believed to have reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters).
In recent weeks, an Israeli company has also announced the discovery of two new natural gas fields, Sarah and Mira, around 70 kilometers (45 miles) off the city of Hadera further south.
10 July 2011, 10:17
00
I hope the lebanese will wake up and react to this issue which is of utmost importance for Lebanon.
10 July 2011, 13:20
01
We first have to deal with the enemy within. Meaning the filthy non-Islamic militia who have slaugtered civilian Lebanese.
10 July 2011, 13:21
10
Bubbaman, your wasting your time. Most of them arent even Lebanese. I read in the Haaretz, that the Mossad were employing bloggers to target "problem" news websites and logg pro Israeli comments. I'm sure naharnet is one such "problem news site". As for israel's maritime border and agreement with cyprus... I thought Cyprus was positioned of the northern Lebanese coast? How exactly does Israel need a maritime border with them?
10 July 2011, 14:00
00
Unfortunately, to most Lebanese, their leaders and the sect and the party they belong to means a whole lot more than Lebanon as a state itself. It seems that even issues of great national interests do not unite all and cheap March 8 and March 14 arguments and counter arguments are very popular with both parties and moderation is considered the enemy of the state.
The comments appearing here and in other topics give a good example and show nothing to be proud of.
10 July 2011, 14:33
02
ado.austrlia you think a mossad can tell u this :
kess ekhtak ya ayre! we eza ana mossad ya zaber enta kaleb iran!
sorry for the bad language, was just trying to prove to imbecile that is living on the welfare of the Australian state and enjoying booze and blond ladies that he fools in there thinking he is the king of the world that i am MORE LEBANESE then you are your Hezeb el shitan!
I am so fed up of being emigrated from my country and on top being called an agent round the clock simply because i don't agree on the way Hezbollah does things. Hezbollah followers are Lebanese and they are people of my nation but all these leaders and these Lebanese need to understand WE CANNOT LIVE SEPARATED, we have to believe in a state and build a nation where weapons are under the gov to fight Israel!
3ama jehel we darib tnabo, we seriously need to spread education in that country!
10 July 2011, 14:39
01
Israel is doing what Lebanon already did, submit they claims and maps to the UN. Of course we did it back in August 2010 so this government probably won't adhere to that UN commitment either.
Israel will take what they want by force and Hezbollah will do nothing because they are only experienced in hiding underground while true Lebanese get killed.
10 July 2011, 14:54
11
To slash, acctually these news were reported by YNET, probably also by haaretz, both these news sites are zionist. If you dont believe it then simply just google it, (i cant verify that it was reported by haaretz, i can only verify it was reported by YNET, the article was something like "thought police is here" or something like that). Mossad has been using this tactic way before it got known, but the article is about the israeli state that employes volunteers who get payed if they sign up to fight their propaganda battles on news sites around the world as well as blogs that deal with the middle east. They have propaganda for everything, even the arab levantine dish of hommos which they claim is "israeli". So please dont just reject such a fact without knowing its history.
10 July 2011, 15:18
10
Sarsi... I wasn't calling u Mossad, just making a point about an article on haaretz. I know from your comments, u are Lebanese living in Sweden, most probably Sunni. I was thinking more of Youseph Haddad, Danny b and numerous others that stand out. Unfortunately, ur disgusting comments regarding my sister and calling me an Iranian dog, is a sad example of what you've degenerated into. Talking about educating people and in the same paragraph accuse me of being an alcoholic, chasing blondes, living of welfare & being a member of "hezeb shitan"? Is this how we build a nation and live together? Good luck with that mate.
10 July 2011, 16:05
01
first am not in Sweden, next am not a Sunni. third u drove me nuts and apologize on my comments but i tend to generalize when it comes to Lebanese behavior after my experience with them abroad.
and above all the talk is going from both sides. you and many bash us and we bash you back! it seems to me in our genes we have some concept of hating each others and then surely we regret it.
What i want is what you want, Lebanon is to welcome us back and be like Sweden or Norway or Australia, fair to its people at least in the basic life standards.
But when you call others enemies and agents, then you surely make as we say the blood boil!
Anyhow, i ll try to keep my talk civilized now on after this one week of comments here i noticed there is no point of using the same Lebanese language that our politicians are using in the media.
I tend to forget sometimes self respect after i read Naharnet and MTV and Almanar, gosh they are better then News of the world aka Murdoch :)
10 July 2011, 16:37
01
there are international laws to define maritime borders. and it is not because it is israel that this pb occurs. france and canada are also arguing in front of the UN for maritime borders...
10 July 2011, 16:47
00
Bubbaman, i am lebanese and i am really pissed with that. But do you really think that the support of iran and the so called "resistance" arms will help us with that. Do you think that the international community gives a shit about this - they will do everything to bring us back to the stone age now - and this is what really pisses me off. Maybe we will get the gas fields after liberating Palestine. Your boss promised!
10 July 2011, 19:07
20
We are Rich ! Thank god Hariri & Co are no longer in power .. They would have stolen all that money that will be coming to the Lebanese ... At least now , we are sure that all the Lebanese will enjoy that richness , to have a better and decent life .
Bye Bye Sad Saad , bye bye corruption , bye bye march 14 , bye bye Siniora , bye bye Mahkama .
10 July 2011, 20:53
01
oh Le P yo2ssouf 3omrak shou mahdoum we msadi2 hal wahem!
hahaha bye bye al , shou enak zake bass!
10 July 2011, 23:25
00
"We are Rich ! Thank god Hariri & Co are no longer in power .. They would have stolen all that money that will be coming to the Lebanese ... At least now , we are sure that all the Lebanese will enjoy that richness , to have a better and decent life ."
here is one that doesn t know that his leaders are as corrupted as those he criticizes...
how beautiful is hope, how wonderful is it to dream far from reality... we all envy your emptiness le phenicien, at least you don t use your neurones too much to think!
11 July 2011, 01:43
10
all those traitors that are howling like a mad dogs are trying to hide the fact that saad harriri blocked any lebanese action upon gas fields and this goverment will do what a patriotic goverment must do. glory to the resistance, and traitors like shab, sasi, slash, bashir and others from zionist information war department can keep howling. you tell your masters to make a drillign station in lebanon waters and it will be hit by a rocket. and we'll deal with the traitors, too...
11 July 2011, 07:27
00
the lebanese will never accomplish anything. the knowledge of hydrocarbons is not knew. I discussed it with another Lebanese aquaintance in 1984. why it took them so long and not do anything about it is clear. THEY ARE STUPID MORONS WOULD RATHER FIGHT AND KILL EACH OTHERS .OVER NOTHING THAT TO SIT DOW AND DO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE. like all arabs, Lebanese are JARAB TOO. too many chiefs no indians as we say here in america. it means too many chefs and the food will burn(who cares something like this). so wake up stupid mother fuckers. if hizbullah want to fight Israel let him. in the meantime get busy working on drilling for gas and oil instead of just comlainig scum bags. if you need help to figure it out let me know.
