‘Israeli’ Entity Lays Claim to Karish Field Ahead of Mediation Results

By Al Ahed Staff

In advance of announcing the results of the US-mediated indirect negotiations with Lebanon, the Zionist occupation regime laid claim to the disputed Karish Field.

The ‘Israeli’ entity’s so-called energy minister, Karen El Harar, made the claim in an interview with BBC Arabic despite all the key challenges the Zionist regime is locked in, atop of which is its domestic political crisis as it heads for its fifth general election in less than four years after the coalition government concluded it could not hold out.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that the Lebanese resistance group will target the gas platforms if ‘Israel’ continued exploring in those disputed areas.

On this level al-Harar denied that these threats “impact ‘Israel’s’ continued gas exploration on the ground.”

She went further to allege that the Karish field is an “Israeli territory,” adding that “the disputed areas are located elsewhere.”

Karish is a natural oil and gas naval field located some 100 kilometers off the occupied Palestinian shores. The confirmed gas reserves in the field amount to 1.3 trillion cubic feet. Initial estimations published by Reuters pointed to that the gas reserves in the same field are around 1.8 trillion cubic feet.

The area, breached by the ‘Israeli’ enemy, is an economic zone rich in fields that purely belong to Lebanon. It stretches over a minimum area of 863 square kilometers and a maximum of 2200 square kilometers.

Reiterating the ‘Israeli’ allegation about the entity’s military readiness to deal with any scenario, the Zionist minister took advantage of her interview to play the role of the advisor who urged Lebanon to negotiate.

Despite claiming ownership already, al-Harar referred to the US-mediated negotiations between Lebanon and the Zionist occupation regime, alleging that ‘Israel’ is still “awaiting the results of American mediation,” and noting that the American energy envoy, who recently visited Lebanon, had “a Lebanese proposal” for a solution.