21666 - Israel and Palestine via EEZ
N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Vicky Baklessi
A lateral course so that the Palestine question be resolved, is to realize in practice that Israel, no matter what it officially states in a diplomatic manner, it never trespasses the EEZ of the Gaza strip.
This argument is not utilized, not even by the advocates of peace, because most of them don’t even know that it exists. And whoever thinks that it concerns an artificial solution, they have to know that even in this small EEZ there are prospects for natural gas fields. In other words, there is a de facto potential, which may be transformed to a de jure agreement.
Also, on the other side, namely Egypt, there is no trespassing. So Israel and Egypt, states which get along even more through natural gas and especially with the influence of Cyprus, they leave this EEZ triangle intact. Within this context the next decisions could be incorporated. In 2011, UNESCO accepts for Palestine to become one of its state members In 2012, Palestine becomes a non member observer state in the United Nations. And in 2015, Palestine becomes the 123rd member of the International Criminal Court.
In other words, there is already a process in which the issues of the EEZ can be included in an official manner. With this approach we see that there are realistic prospects for the problem’s solution. As long, of course, as both sides are made aware and are utilized in an effective and strategic manner, so that a framework of stability is created, capable to prepare a resistant situation on which the peoples of the region can depend on.