Israel Matzav

Hezbullah threatens Israel over maritime borders

Here we go again. Hezbullah's number 2, Naim Qassem.

Hezbollah on Wednesday issued a stark warning to Jerusalem, vowing to protect its maritime rights against "Israeli threats."

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Lebanon “will remain vigilant in order to regain its full rights, whatever it takes,” Lebanese news website Naharnet quoted Qassem as saying.

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“We will not be frightened by the Israeli threats and we will not change our stance in adhering to our rights, and Israel knows that its threats against Lebanon are worthless, after the bitter experiences it went through in the face of Lebanon’s steadfastness and vigor," the Hezbollah deputy chief stated.

So is Lebanon looking for another point of contention? Jacques Neria thinks they're looking for a diplomatic solution, but that they're more than willing to fight (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad via Twitter).

The dispute over the gas fields along the Lebanon-Israel maritime border has been described by some analysts as another Shab'aa Farms issue, which historically has been a periodic clash point between Hizbullah and Israel. However, on the gas issue it seems that the parallel is misplaced. Lebanon has a real interest in developing potential fields and a possible confrontation with Israel will not assist in obtaining the energy independence it is seeking. Analyzing Lebanese declarations, it is clear that the Lebanese have chosen first to seek a diplomatic solution either through the UN apparatus or through international courts and bodies of arbitration that specialized in those disputes.

It comes as no surprise, however, that the sudden interest in the potential fossil-fuel wealth off the Israeli and Lebanese coastlines has turned the Mediterranean into a potential theater of confrontation between Israel and Hizbullah. The Lebanese group already boasts an amphibious warfare unit trained in underwater sabotage and coastal infiltration. Hizbullah's ability to target shipping - and possibly offshore oil and gas platforms - was exposed in the war with Israel in 2006 when Hizbullah came close to sinking an Israeli missile boat with an Iranian version of the Chinese C-802 missile. Hizbullah fighters have since hinted that they have acquired larger anti-ship missiles with double the 72-mile (116 km.) range of the C-802 variant.

Last year, Hizbullah leader Nasrallah warned that his organization now possesses the ability to target shipping along the entire length of Israel's coastline. Nasrallah even promised that if Israel threatens future Lebanese plans to tap its oil and gas reserves, "only the Resistance [Hizbullah] would force Israel and the world to respect Lebanon's right."19 In this context, one cannot dismiss the possibility that in time of conflict Hizbullah would use its weapons to target and hit Israel's gas installations in the Eastern Mediterranean basin.

Responding to this threat, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in January that the offshore gas fields were a "strategic objective that Israel's enemies will try to undermine" and vowed that "Israel will defend its resources."

No doubt the U.S. has a keen interest in preventing any conflagration in the region, especially in an area where American drilling and oil and gas exploration companies are involved. A report in Ha'aretz20 pointed to the U.S. as having adopted the Lebanese position on the issue, but this has been denied by government spokesmen. It is clear that the U.S. will not blindly accept either of the two positions: the U.S. will follow the legal lines of international jurisdiction and encourage both parties to do so. In this realm it seems that the U.S. will advise the Lebanese government to exercise some restraint over Hizbullah and will signify that any military intervention by Hizbullah could come at the expense of Lebanese interests.

As for Israel, the Cabinet has already approved a budget to protect Israel's "strategic maritime energy sources." It would be a fair assessment that any damage incurred due to Hizbullah's activities would generate retaliation that would be aimed against the infrastructure of the Lebanese state.

But the Lebanese government IS Hezbullah....

What could go wrong?

Labels: C-802 missiles, Hezbullah, Lebanese-Israeli maritime borders

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:53 PM