»Israelisch-libanesischer Konflikt« | Oded Enan, Senior Research Fellow des INSS in Tel Aviv: Unklare Seegrenzen und libanesische Kompromisslosigkeit
Deutsche Zusammenfassung
Zwischen Israel und dem Libanon eskaliert der Streit um die gemeinsame Seegrenze. Beide Staaten beanspruchen ein etwa 850 km2 großes Meeresgebiet, in dem Erdgasvorkommen vermutet werden. Israel beruft sich dabei auf internationale Seerechtsabkommen und hatte bislang auf die Vergabe von Lizenzen für Probebohrungen verzichtet, um einen Kompromiss mit dem Libanon zu ermöglichen. Anders der Libanon: Vergab das libanesische Kabinett im Dezember 2017 Lizenzen für Probebohrungen an drei Unternehmen aus Frankreich, Italien und Russland, drohte es Israel nun, „allen geeigneten Maßnahmen“ zu ergreifen, sofern seine souveränen und wirtschaftlichen Rechte von Israel missachtet werden sollten.
Eine Analyse von Oded Eran im INSS, The Institute for National Strategic Studies (Tel-Aviv, Israel), Insight Nr. 1022, 14. Februar 2018. Dieser Artikel erschien ebenso in der Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Could Natural Gas in the Mediterranean Spark the Third Lebanese War?
Speaking about border issues between Israel and Lebanon at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) annual conference (January 31, 2018), Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the Lebanese government had issued a tender for natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean, including in an area belonging to Israel. His words sparked a fiery response from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the media in both Israel and Lebanon reported that the organization was threatening to attack Israel’s drilling rigs in the Mediterranean. The verbal exchanges, along with Lebanon’s disregard for Israeli attempts to resolve the matter of the maritime border diplomatically, justify external involvement to prevent further deterioration. The American administration can minimize the risk of armed conflict by bringing Lebanon back to the idea of talking to Israel – even indirectly – about a fair compromise that would suit Lebanon.
Speaking about border issues between Israel and Lebanon at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) annual conference (January 31, 2018), Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the Lebanese government had issued a tender for natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean, and that by all criteria Block 9, which was awarded to a number of well-known international companies, belonged to Israel. Liberman called Lebanon’s move a provocation and a serious mistake. His words sparked a fiery response from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the media in both Israel and Lebanon reported that the organization was threatening to attack Israel’s drilling rigs in the Mediterranean.
Conflicts over maritime borders are not unique to Lebanon and Israel, and as in this case, many of them derive from competition over economic resources – whether fishing zones or oil and natural gas fields. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea grants a state exclusive economic rights over an area stretching 200 nautical miles from its coast (Exclusive Economic Zone). Israel began drilling in its economic waters more than twenty years ago, and since 2003 natural gas has flowed from the sea into Israel. The big breakthrough in this area, and with it the eruption of the conflict, came in December 2010, when a consortium of companies announced the discovery of the gas in the Leviathan field. That same month Israel and Cyprus signed an agreement on delineation of the maritime border between them (since the distance between the two countries is less than 400 nautical miles), although in the summer of 2010 Lebanon had already rushed to register documents with the UN delimiting its maritime border with Israel. In June 2011 Lebanon again turned to the UN, expressing its opposition to the agreement between Israel and Cyprus „that violates [according to Lebanon] the sovereign and economic rights of Lebanon and could imperil international peace and security, particularly if one of these States [presumably referring to Israel and Cyprus] should decide unilaterally to exercise sovereign authority over the region that Lebanon considers an inalienable part of its exclusive economic zone.“ Israel replied on July 12, 2011, attaching the coordinates to delineate its maritime border with Lebanon. The gaps between the Lebanese and Israeli claims create a disputed area of 850 sq. km.
In late 2011, Israel, out of a willingness to compromise, began to look for diplomatic ways to resolve the developing dispute. In inter-ministerial consultations, the decision was taken not to grant new licenses for the area under dispute in order to facilitate a compromise solution. It was decided not to use UNIFIL as a channel for discussion between Israel and Lebanon, since the mandate of the Force does not refer to the maritime border, and Israel prefers to avoid UN mediation. The Israel interest in mediation led to several contacts by third parties, and ultimately American mediation was the preferred option.
In February 2012, State Department Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Frederic Hof, who was heavily involved in developments in Syria in the framework of the Arab Spring, undertook the task of mediation. Israel reiterated to him its willingness to resolve the dispute by reaching a compromise in direct talks with representatives of the Lebanese government. In April 2012, at separate meetings in London (in view of the Lebanese refusal to participate in a joint meeting), Hof submitted a proposed compromise involving division of the disputed area. On May 2, 2013, then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman approved the American proposal, even though it granted Lebanon a larger share of the area. To this day no official response from Lebanon has been received, although according to reports of US diplomats in contact with the Lebanese government, they discussed inter alia depositing the proposal with the UN. From this it appears that the proposal was acceptable to the Lebanese government.
Der ganze Artikel ist zu lesen in den INSS (Tel-Aviv, Israel)
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