Israel aiming to steal Gaza’s offshore gas
Tel Aviv has reportedly granted 12 licences for offshore gas exploration in Gaza to six local and foreign companies, including the Italian energy company Eni, British Petroleum, subsidiary of Korea National Oil Corporation Dana Petroleum, and Israeli Ratio Petroleum, reported the New Arab and agencies on April 18th.
About three weeks after October 7th, Israel’s Ministry of Energy announced that it had awarded natural gas concessions in zones that — according to international law — fall within Palestinian maritime borders.
Palestine declared its maritime boundaries to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2015, further providing the area’s geographic coordinates and figures in 2019.
However, because Israel is a part of UNCLOS and does not recognise the Palestinian State, it has overrode international norms. The result has been Gaza’s denial of access to its maritime resources — despite the fact that, under the Oslo Accords, Palestinians can access the area 20 nautical miles from the enclave’s coast.
Yet Israel cannot legally tender licences in areas where it lacks sovereign rights. Under international law, Israel cannot exploit natural resources of the occupied Palestinian territory for commercial purposes instead of the benefit of the occupied population.
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“Their unilateral demarcation of areas within Palestinian maritime boundaries they claim as their own obviously clashes with Palestine’s 2019 declaration,” said Suhad Bishara, the legal director of Adalah — a Palestinian-run legal centre in Israel. She sees the offshore bids as another attempt to illegally “seize” Palestinian assets.
“The fact that Israel continues business as usual with granting those licences goes to show the level of disregard of international law that Israel is currently in,” said Miriam Azem, Adalah’s international advocacy and communications associate.
Israel’s recent offshore exploration has come to the attention of several Palestinian human rights groups. Adalah sent a letter on February 5th to the Israeli Minister of Energy and Attorney General demanding the cancellation of these exploration tenders.
“The tenders, issued under Israeli domestic law, constitute annexation of the Palestinian maritime area under effective Israeli control,” the statement read, “since they attempt to circumvent the norms of IHL and apply Israeli domestic law to the Palestinian maritime area in relation to the management and exploitation of natural resources.”
Additionally, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Al-Haq and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) sent notices to the involved energy companies, pleading with them to refrain from carrying out any activities in Zone G — half of which lies within Palestine’s claimed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
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The NGOs warned that they would use “all legal means available” if the companies chose to proceed, adding that “the International Criminal Court currently has an active investigation open into international crimes” committed in the territory and holds “jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute” any individual deemed responsible for war crimes.
“The emphasis on the companies’ involvement in this Israeli offshore tender is key since they also have international legal obligations,” added Adalah’s advocacy associate.
The NGOs have yet to receive responses.
Israel’s pursuits align with the country’s aim to become a leading provider of gas to Europe. In June 2022, the EU and Egypt signed a memorandum that could have realised Israel’s export of natural gas to the EU.
Though Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip disrupted these ambitions.
“Energy security and Gaza don’t seem to go well together, given the security risks associated with developing gas fields off its coast,” said Gregory Brew, an energy analyst at Eurasia Group.
“The situation regarding the sovereignty of the Gaza Strip is ambiguous enough that international energy companies would be wary of working with Israel next to an open war zone,” he added.
The New Arab and agencies
