Lebanon has submitted its own sea boundary proposal to the UN,
and Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved a conflicting proposal that it is to
send to the world body.
The two enemy countries are staking claims for a demarcation
line in the Mediterranean Sea, where significant energy reserves have been
found in recent years. Israel recently discovered two gas fields off its coast,
and energy companies believe other reserves could be found there.
Israeli officials said the government felt compelled to set
a proposed boundary after Lebanon submitted its own proposal to the UN Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that Lebanon's proposal would place the
border "significantly south" of Israel's line.
President Michel Suleiman warned Monday against unilateral
decisions, saying Lebanon is ready and has the right to defend its borders and
resources using every "available and legal" means.
He said the issue would be discussed at this week's Cabinet
meeting.
Minister of Power and Hydraulic Resources Jibran Bassil
called Israel's proposed sea border an "aggression." "We are not
attacking anyone but we should not accept that anyone attack us even if by one
centimeter," he told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. He said Lebanon is studying
a swift political and diplomatic campaign to face Israel's border claims.
In most cases, countries negotiate their maritime border, as
Israel did several months ago with Cyprus. Because Israel and Lebanon have no
diplomatic relations, the proposals are to go to the United Nations.
It is unclear what role the UN would play in determining the
border. After Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, following an 18-year
occupation, the UN drew the land border between the two countries, though the
Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia disputes part of it.
Hezbollah, which dominates Lebanese politics and battled
Israel in a monthlong war in 2006, has threatened to use force to protect
Lebanon's natural wealth. Israel's National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau
has said Israel would use force to defend its gas fields.
Over the past two years, Israel has discovered two fields
thought to contain about 24 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. The
discoveries, notable in a country lacking in natural resources, are believed to
be enough to make Israel energy self-sufficient for decades.
The gas discoveries have created a new source of friction
between the two countries, which have clashed repeatedly. Disputes over
potential new reserves could threaten to ignite hostilities again.
