Mediterranean: Lebanon and Israel dispute over access to Karish gas field

 Lebanese party and militia leader Hassan Nasrallah was issued a warning to Isreal to claim the gas field for itself, writes SPIEGEL:

In the border dispute over gas deposits in the Mediterranean, the head of the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, has warned Israel against claiming them for itself. "The hand that reaches out for our riches will be cut off," the head of the Iran-backed militia said in a televised speech in Beirut on Tuesday. This is reported by the AFP news agency.

Nobody should be allowed "to plunder the country," said the Hezbollah chief in his speech to supporters. Lebanon's oil, gas and water supplies would have to remain under Lebanese control.

The USA is currently mediating in the smoldering and recently escalated border dispute between Israel and Lebanon over mineral resources in the Mediterranean – so far without a result. US mediator Amos Hochstein told the Lebanese media in early August that he was "optimistic" and was aiming for a solution for both sides. Accordingly, Israel should be able to continue its activities in the Karisch gas field and at the same time allow Lebanon access to the energy market.

The conflict escalated after Israel sent a gas production vessel towards the Karish gas field in June. However, parts of the gas field are claimed by Lebanon. Beirut then called for the resumption of talks mediated by the United States.

The discovery of large gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years has aroused the desires of all the neighboring countries and fueled border disputes. From Israel's perspective, the gas field lies within its territorial waters and not within a disputed area at stake in negotiations with Lebanon over the maritime border between the two countries.

Lebanon and Israel negotiated their disputed sea border for the first time in October 2020, mediated by the United States. Negotiations were suspended in May 2021. The border dispute was initially about an 860 square kilometer stretch off the coast of both countries, and finally Lebanon demanded an additional 1,430 square kilometers, which also includes the Karisch field.

Formally, the neighboring countries are still at war and do not maintain diplomatic relations. The United Nations peacekeeping force Unifil, stationed in Lebanon since 1978, has patrolled the border since the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

Mediterranean: when exploration of gas fields hurtles with hegemonic ambitions

 The projected EastMed pipeline which is scheduled for construction start in 2023 is jeopardised by expansionist aspirations of Turkey. Israel has ordered four stealth capable corvettes at a german shipyard. The first one has just been delivered. Some observers draw parallels to arm races in the wake of WW1 writes german newspaper WELT:

Israel's security is German reasons of state - Angela Merkel's confession to the Knesset is probably the most frequently quoted sentence by a German head of government in Israel. Now Germany's responsibility for the Jewish state is to become visible: On November 11, the Kiel-built warship “INS Magen” (Hebrew for protective shield) will be handed over to the Israeli Navy.

It is the first of four Sa’ar 6-class corvettes that the Israeli government has ordered from ThyssenKrupp. According to the Ministry of Defense, the federal government is financing around a third of the project with 115 million euros.

Mediterranean: EU considers sanctions against Turkey

 Turkey's line of action in exploring possible gas fields in the Mediterranean viewed as illegal by Greece and the increasingle reckless actions of the NATO-member in Libya brings the EU to ponder sanctions against turkish state officials, writes french newspaper Le Monde:

 

"New stage in the dispute between Istanbul and Athens in the eastern Mediterranean. The 27 member states of the European Union are preparing sanctions against Turkey, which could be on the agenda of the next summit, scheduled for September 24, announced Friday August 28, the high representative of the 'Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.

"In the absence of progress on Turkey's part, we could draw up a list of new restrictive measures" to be discussed at the EU summit on September 24, Borrell said after a meeting of foreign ministers of member states in Berlin.

These sanctions, intended to limit Turkey's ability to prospect for hydrocarbons in disputed areas, could concern individuals, ships or the use of European ports, said Josep Borrell, adding that the EU is would focus on everything related to “activities that we consider illegal”.

Greek-turkish conflict: France sends battleships and fighter aircrafts to back Greece

 French newspaper "Le Monde" writes:

"France has temporarily deployed two Rafale fighters and two naval vessels in the eastern Mediterranean amid tensions between Greece and Turkey over gas exploitation, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces announced Thursday (August 13th). 

On Tuesday, Ankara said it had sent a ship the day before to search for hydrocarbons in an area two-thirds of the Greek maritime zone, contested for decades by Turkey. Greece immediately reacted by sending a boat to "monitor" Turkish activities, according to Athens, warning through the voice of its prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, "that no provocation would go unanswered".