National Resistance Front calls for Lebanon's right to natural undersea resources

The Chairman of the National Resistance Front and member of the Islamic Action Front in Lebanon, Sheikh Zuhair Juaid, has called upon the government in Beirut and the Lebanese people to establish Lebanon’s right to its natural marine resources. The emphasis in his statement was on recent offshore oil and gas discoveries.

Sheikh Juaid demanded that the Lebanese government should speed up the adoption of this vital matter, which is exciting the Lebanese economy. “It will also restore some optimism for Arab and Lebanese investors, and opens the way for new job opportunities,” he said.

“There is no real dispute between political groups over this issue because it is important for the world to recognise Lebanon’s borders, including territorial waters, to allow us to explore and extract oil and gas without any embarrassment or permission.”

The Sheikh insisted that it is Lebanon’s national right to determine the limits of its own economic area within its own territorial waters: “Neither the Israelis nor the Republic of Cyprus have the right to infringe upon our rights and take our wealth.” Lebanese officials and politicians, he added, should take the necessary measures to gain this right and get it recognised by the United Nations and the international community. This would allow Lebanon to start drilling for oil and gas right to the edge of the territorial limits.