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DoomsdaysCWFrom 2021: #Palestine’s forgotten oil and gas resources
A fair distribution of #Oil and gas resources in the Levant Basin will be needed to achieve a lasting political and economic settlement between Israel and Palestine.
by Mahmoud Elkhafif
Published On 21 Jun 2021
Excerpt: "The prolonged closure and recurrent military operations in Gaza have left more than half the territory’s population living below the poverty line and cost $16.7bn in lost GDP annually. This figure does not account for the huge opportunity cost of preventing the Palestinian people from using their natural gas field off the shores of Gaza.
"The 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the #WestBank and #GazaStrip, known as the #OsloII Accord, gave the #PalestinianAuthority (PA) maritime jurisdiction over its waters up to 20 nautical miles from the coast. The PA signed a 25-year contract for gas exploration with the#BritishGas Group in 1999, and a large gas field, #GazaMarine, was discovered at 17 to 21 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza the same year. However, despite initial discussions between the Israeli government, the PA and British Gas on the sale of gas from this field and the provision of much-needed revenue to the occupied Palestinian territories, the Palestinians have not realised any benefits.
"Since the blockade of Gaza in 2007, the Israeli government has established de facto control over Gaza’s offshore natural gas reserves. The contractor, British Gas, has since been dealing with the Israeli government, effectively bypassing the Palestinian government regarding exploration and development rights.
"Israel has also taken control of the #Meged oil and natural gas field, located inside the occupied #WestBank. Israel states that the field lies west of the armistice line of 1948, yet most of the reservoir is situated beneath the #PalestinianTerritory occupied since 1967.
"More recently, Israel has begun to develop new oil and gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean, solely for its own benefit.
"In commandeering and exploiting Palestinian oil and gas resources, Israel is acting in violation of the letter and the spirit of #TheHague Regulations, the Fourth #GenevaConvention and a body of international #humanitarian and #HumanRights law that addresses the exploitation of common resources by an occupying power, without regard for the interest, rights and shares of the #occupied population."
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/21/palestines-forgotten-oil-and-gas-resources
#OccupiedPalestine #FreePalestine #WorldPol #FreeGaza #FreePalestine #EndTheBlockade #GazaGenocide #RoyalDutchShell #IsraeliWarCrimes #BibiIsAWarCriminal #IsraeliIsAPetroState #BritishGas #PetroCriminals #ShellOil #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #LevantBasin #Starvation #WarCrimes #StolenLand
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