Lebanon rejects violation of its rights in Israeli gas line project with Cyprus and Greece

Lebanon renewed its rejection of the violation of its rights and sovereignty through the planned gas pipeline project between the Israeli occupation, Cyprus and Greece.

The Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Gebran Bassil, said in a statement that “letters were sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, the High Representative for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, and the foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Italy regarding the project of laying gas pipeline between Israel, Cyprus, Greece, and then Italy.”

In his letters, the Lebanese minister stressed the necessity “not to affect the rights of Lebanon in the Special Economic Zone and the need to invoke the international laws related to the sea and the coordinates sent by Lebanon to the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

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He stressed in this regard that “Lebanon will not allow infringement of its rights and sovereignty.”

There is a dispute between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation over the demarcation of the maritime border between them, where Lebanon accuses the occupation of deducting about 860 square kilometres from the Lebanese sea containing promising oil and gas reserves.

In 2009, a gas field was discovered in the eastern Mediterranean within the borders of Lebanon, Cyprus, the occupied Palestinian territories and Egypt. The size of the Lebanese marine reserves is estimated at 96 trillion cubic feet and 865 million barrels of oil.