Lebanon president Michel Aon says any activity in the disputed waters by Israeli forces amounts to provocation and an act of aggression against the State.
After a ship arrived off the coast to produce gas for Israel, Lebanon warned Israel against any “aggressive action” in disputed waters where both countries aim to explore offshore energy.
Following the arrival of the natural gas storage and production ship run by London-based Energean, President Michel Aoun declared that any operation in the disputed territory would be considered an act of aggression and a provocation.
The area in question, according to Israel, is located within its own exclusive economic zone, not in disputed waters.
President Aoun said in a statement on Sunday that he reviewed the vessel’s passage “into the disputed maritime area with Israel” with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and urged the Army Command to give him with “correct and official facts to build upon the subject.”
Negotiations to define the southern maritime border are still ongoing, according to Aoun, and “any action or activity in the disputed area is a provocation and an aggressive action.”
The Israeli administration did not respond to Aoun’s statement right away. Karine Elharrar, Israel’s Energy Minister, greeted the vessel’s arrival and expressed her hope that it will be operational soon.
‘Swimming in dangerous waters’
Energean said its floating production storage and unloading vessel landed at the Karish field in Israel’s exclusive economic zone on Sunday, roughly 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Haifa. It is expected to go live in the third quarter, according to the business.
Israel was “encroaching on Lebanon’s maritime wealth and imposing a fait accompli in a disputed territory,” according to Lebanese Prime Minister Mikati, who described the situation as “very dangerous.”
‘U.S. to the rescue’
In 2000, the US began mediating indirect discussions between the parties to resolve a long-running disagreement between old enemies that had hampered energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Lebanon is home to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, which is backed by Iran and has fought Israel in several conflicts.
Both Israel and Lebanon have asserted claims to their maritime borders in the United Nations.
Lebanon claims its boundary cuts into the sea at a sharper angle to the south, while Israel claims the area to the north, forming a triangle of contested seas.
