ANKARA

Israel has given exploration licenses for natural gas in locations that are considered to be within Palestine's maritime boundary in preparation for "occupying" these areas.

Israel, having killed tens of thousands of civilians in attacks and occupation of the Gaza Strip, announced the results of the tender it organized for exploration in Palestinian waters in December 2022 on Oct. 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 Feb. 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 issued in these areas.

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), similarly issued 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 with Anadolu, 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 them to revoke them and refrain from issuing additional ones in areas that the state of Palestine has declared its exclusive economic zone.

"Israel can carry out licensing because of Palestinian weakness."

President of the Turkish Maritime and Global Strategies Center and Topkapi University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Cihat Yayci explained that Israel made a maritime jurisdiction delimitation agreement with the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus in 2010 and that the area that should fall to Palestine under international law was not included in this agreement.

Yayci argues that Palestine should have a much wider area than it reported to the UN in 2019.

"Palestine has actually declared the area that has been assigned to it. This situation is important in terms of showing how ignorance leads to a loss of rights. With the small triangle given, we see that Israel has not only occupied 85% of Palestine since 1947 but also 80% of the sea."

Furthermore, he lamented that Israel does not even allow fishing, the only source of income for Gazans, nor any transportation from the Gaza coastline.

According to Yayci, the most important goal behind Israel’s decision to deny oil and gas exploration and fishing until today and its blockade of Gaza is so Israel can occupy Gaza and use the resources there for its benefit.

"There is no conflict here; there is the defeat of Palestine's rights,” he said.

He stressed that unlike Türkiye, which has the military capability and power to prevent unlawful drilling and licensing in the Eastern Mediterranean, Palestine is defenseless and weak in preventing such activities in its declared jurisdiction areas.

G, E and H areas in dispute

In a statement released by the PCHR, it said the tenders cover a very large area, but areas designated G, E and H shown on the map are in dispute.

"On October 29, 2023, amidst Israel’s brutal military offensive against Gaza, characterized by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as plausibly constituting genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the Israeli Ministry of Energy announced that it has awarded licenses to six Israeli and international companies to explore for natural gas in areas that are considered Palestinian maritime areas under international law," it noted.

"The companies include Eni S.p.A. (Italy), Dana Petroleum, a subsidiary of the South Korean National Petroleum Company, and the Israeli company Ratio Petroleum. The licenses come after the Fourth Offshore Bid Round ("OBR4"), which the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure launched in December 2022," PCHR explained.

Areas to be explored for gas

According to information shared by Adalah, Al Mezan, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Israeli Ministry of Energy announced that it had granted licenses to six Israeli and international companies to explore for natural gas in what are considered Palestinian maritime areas under international law.

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.