02/07/2010 Israel expressed deep concern at the pressing calls in Lebanon to protect its right in the gas and oil fields, which the Zionist entity has been aggressively seeking to control. Israel and Lebanon are now locked in a tight race to legally determine their rights in the riches under the Mediterranean seabed.
 
“In the wake of threats from Lebanon to exploit gas field in the Mediterranean, Israel is in the process of passing a law that would determine our rights in the sea. International law experts said they do not believe that Lebanon’s demands are founded on solid grounds and they this issue will not end soon,” an Israeli Channel One anchor said Thursday.
 
According to Israeli media, experts have established that any international side cannot stop Israel from exploiting gas fields, even if they extended to Lebanon’s international waters.
 
“As long as there is no accurate data about the volume of the field and there is no proof that this field extends to their (Lebanon’s) territorial waters, they don’t have the right to it,” Israeli attorney and international law expert, Daniel Reisner told the Israeli Channel One.
 
Israel has already set preconditions for Lebanon’s exploitation of the gas field “through negotiations and dialogue with Israel,” even if Lebanon’s right was definite.
 
In Lebanon, Minister of Energy and Water Jibran Bassil urged the government to refer its oil-drilling law to parliament as soon as possible. In a press conference Friday, Bassil stressed the necessity for Lebanon’s sovereign oil fund to be managed by the President (currently Michel Sleiman).
Bassil also called for a swift demarcation of Lebanon’s maritime borders “before it’s too late.”