Lebanon to Resist Israeli Pressure in Offshore Exploration Dispute

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Israel asked the United States and the United Nations to pressure Lebanon into giving up several offshore exploration tenders located in maritime blocs within a 300 square mile territory where the two countries' claims overlap.

"We have outlined and informed the United Nations with our borders according to the international treaties and therefore we have sovereign right to benefit from our wealth and we will not back down from this right no matter what the threats are," Khalil told the al Mayadeen channel.

Israel's move seeks to interfere with Lebanon's right to benefit from its natural resources, he added.

The new iteration of the maritime dispute comes several weeks after Lebanon's decision to go ahead and allow offshore drilling and their requests to companies to submit preliminary bids for exploration before the end of the month.

The Israeli-Lebanese dispute emerged after Cyprus concluded maritime border agreements separately with Lebanon and Israel in 2007 and 2010. A territorial water overlap then emerged due to UN rules stipulating an equidistant border intersection between three states, resulting in a divergence between the agreements and the UN rules and potentially giving a 300-square mile triangle to Lebanon.