Lebanon: Parliament Speaker Berri Accuses ‘Israel’ Of Violating Water Borders in Oil Exploration

By Staff, Agencies

‘Israel’ breached Lebanon’s waters by licensing a company to exploit an area for oil and gas near disputed borders, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday.

There is an unresolved maritime border dispute over a sea zone of about 860 sq km which extends along the edge of three of Lebanon’s energy blocks.

US diplomats mediated between Lebanon and the Zionist entity last year after a spike in tensions after the occupation entity built a wall along the border.

“[It is] a dangerous matter. ‘Israel’ has licensed and exploited an area adjacent to the Lebanese southern maritime borders,” MPs from Berri’s Amal party quoted him as saying on Wednesday after a meeting.

“This is an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and targets our oil wealth and waters.”

Berri vowed “not to remain silent” and to bring it up with the Italian prime minister visiting Beirut this week, as well as other foreign states, the lawmakers said.

Lebanon sits on the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean - along with Cyprus, Egypt, occupied Palestine and Syria - where a number big gas fields have been discovered since 2009.

Lebanon signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production agreements for two energy blocks, including one disputed by the Zionist entity. A consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek signed the contracts.

Lebanon said the dispute would not stop it benefiting from potential undersea reserves in Block 9, while consortium operator Total said it would not drill the block’s first well near the disputed sliver of water.