能源霸權：以色列睺住黎巴嫩的離岸油氣儲量

能源霸權：以色列睺住黎巴嫩的離岸油氣儲量
Energy Hegemony: Israel Eyes Lebanon’s Offshore Gas Reserves
by Rannie Amiri
Global Research, July 1, 2010

“We are not obliged to state the limits of our State.” – David Ben Gurion, 14 May 1948
“我們沒有義務要申明我們國家的限制。” - 大衛本古裡安，1948年5月14日

In all regional disputes, big or small, Israel will invariably threaten or implement violence. It is the preferred method of conflict resolution. The recent discovery of natural gas reserves in Lebanese territorial waters, and Israel’s claim to them, is no exception.
在所有的區域性糾紛，不論大小，以色列將會不變地威脅或實施暴力；它是首選的解決衝突方法。最近在黎巴嫩領海發現的天然氣儲量，和以色列聲稱擁有它們，沒有例外。
It didn’t take long for Israeli infrastructure minister Uzi Landau to raise the prospect of war. That is, if Lebanon attempts to prevent his country from exercising full control over the field despite portions apparently falling within Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone.
它不需多久，給以色列基礎設施部長蘭多去提高戰爭的前景。也就是，如果黎巴嫩企圖阻止它的國家，去在領域內行使完全的控制，儘管有些部分明顯地落入黎巴嫩的專屬經濟區。
“We will not hesitate to use our force and strength to protect not only the rule of law but the international maritime law,” he said. It was an absurd statement, of course, in light of the utter contempt Israel held for maritime law in the attack (in international waters) on the Turkish relief flotilla.
“我們必將會毫不猶豫地使用我們的力量和實力，去保護不祇法治，但亦是國際海洋法，”他說。當然它是一項荒謬的聲明，鑑於那極端蔑視以色列約束海洋法律，對在攻擊（在國際水域）土耳其救援艦隊上。
The Tamar natural gas field, 50 miles off Israel’s northern coast, is run by a consortium of American and Israeli companies, including U.S.-based Noble Energy. The latter announced that Tamar may contain up to 8.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and a second, Leviathan, 16 trillion. The deposits in these fields, both found in the last 18 months, are more than twice the size of Great Britain’s proven reserves.

Because Tamar appears to extend into Lebanese waters, and in full recognition of Israel’s history of stealing precious water resources from its neighbors, there have been urgent calls for Lebanon to ratify an energy bill. Last week, parliament speaker Nabih Berri indicated he would swiftly work to pass draft legislation to permit offshore oil and natural gas exploration before Israel claims the zone as its own and starts drilling.

“Israel is racing to make the situation a fait accompli and was quick to present itself as an oil emirate—ignoring the fact that, according to the maps, the deposit extends into Lebanese waters. Lebanon must take immediate action to defend its financial, political, economic and sovereign rights,” Berri said.

In an October statement, Norway-based Petroleum Geo-Services confirmed Lebanese waters contain potentially valuable deposits and may prove to be an “exciting new province for oil and gas.”

Despite the pending legislation, the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been criticized for acting too slowly. “The Israeli enemy has started exploring for oil while Lebanon has started exploring an energy law,” quipped one Hezbollah official.

In the latest spat between the two countries still technically at war, one can see how the situation might deteriorate. Indeed, Landau’s threat was one Prime Minister Netanyahu endorsed with his silence.

For Lebanon, the stakes are enormous; potential revenue from tapping into oil and gas reserves would help finance a staggering debt accounting for nearly 150 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Will this be the cases belli Israel has been desperately seeking since the July 2006 Lebanon war ended in a humiliating draw?

The debate over which the country’s claim is most sound is not meant to be adjudicated here. What can be said, however, is that Israel’s reflexive threat to use military force to solve this—or any—disagreement with its neighbors cannot be legitimized.

Israel’s history of instigating conflict and then waging war has led to the immeasurable loss of life, land and property. If the pretext to do so again will be control of natural gas reserves shared with Lebanon, the international community must unequivocally declare this an issue to be resolved by rule of law, not act of war.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19991

以色列要立法把地中海天然氣歸自己所有