Israel grants gas exploration license in areas in Palestine’s maritime boundary

ANKARA – Israel has given exploration licenses for natural gas in locations that are considered to be within Palestine’s maritime boundary.

Israel, having killed tens of thousands of civilians in attacks in the Gaza Strip, announced the results of the tender it organized for exploration in Palestinian waters in December 2022 on October 29 last year just days after it intensified its attacks in Gaza.

Within the scope of the tender, the Israeli administration granted licenses to six Israeli and international companies to explore natural gas in areas that are deemed to fall under Palestinian maritime borders in accordance with international law.

On February 5, Adalah, the Legal Center for the Protection of Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent a letter to the Israeli Energy Ministry demanding the cancellation of such gas exploration licenses.

Following Adalah’s request, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Ramallah-based human rights organization, Al-Haq, along with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), issued similar warnings to companies holding licenses not to carry out any activities in these areas.

“Israel is the occupying power in the Gaza Strip and exercises full and effective control over Palestine’s maritime areas. The issuance of the tender and the subsequent granting of licenses for exploration in this area constitute a violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) and customary international law,” Adalah said in a statement.

“The tenders, issued in accordance with Israeli domestic law, effectively amount to the de facto and de jure annexation of the Palestinian maritime areas claimed by Palestine, as they seek to supersede applicable IHL norms by instead applying Israeli domestic law to the area in the context of managing and exploiting natural resources,” Adalah added.

The statement stressed that under applicable international law, Israel is prohibited from using the limited non-renewable resources of the occupied territories for commercial gain and for the benefit of the occupying power, in accordance with the usufruct rules referred to in Article 55 of the Hague Regulations.

“Israel, as a de facto administrative authority in the occupied territories, cannot consume natural resources for commercial purposes that do not benefit the occupied population,” the statement read.

Commenting on the issue, Attorney Suhad Bishara, director of Adalah’s Legal, Land and Planning Rights Unit, declared that Israel’s deposits in the sea adjacent to Gaza are illegal under international law.

Bishara argued that Israel decided to suspend all international legal frameworks that it should abide by and instead apply its own national law.

According to Bishara, “these actions, including the licenses issued by Israel, are illegal under international humanitarian law and under the laws of the sea. Israel has no authority to issue such bids and licenses.”

Consequently, she explained that they approached the Israeli Ministry of Energy, the body in charge of these licenses, asking it to revoke them and refrain from issuing additional ones in areas that the state of Palestine has declared its exclusive economic zone.

– Gas exploration continues in areas E, G and H –

The Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure held its fourth offshore bidding round in December 2022, following which licenses were granted.

Israel awarded gas exploration licenses for Area G, a maritime area adjacent to the Gaza coast, 62% of which lies within the maritime borders declared by Palestine in 2019 in accordance with the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which Palestine is a party.

Of the other two areas where Israel opened tenders, 73% of H and 5% of E are located within the maritime borders declared by Palestine.

SOCAR, NewMed Energy and BP won the exploration tender in the I field, which is located in the non-disputed area.​​​​​​​

– Objections to Palestinian declaration of maritime jurisdiction –

Following Palestine’s declaration of its maritime boundaries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on Sept. 24, 2019, Egypt notified the UN on Dec. 31, 2019, stating that “the Government of Egypt rejects and does not recognize the points defining the external boundaries of the maritime areas specified in the Palestinian declaration. This boundary coincides with Egypt’s eastern maritime boundary in the Mediterranean Sea.”

Then, on Jan. 14, 2020, Israel filed an objection, informing the UN that it did not recognize the borders announced by Palestine.

Most recently, on April 12 and 27, 2022, Palestine notified the UN of unauthorized maritime activities in its maritime areas.