KHAN Al-AHMAR, Palestinian Territories: A creeping Israeli presence is nothing new for the Bedouins who inhabit the arid hills east of Jerusalem, but a recently approved road in the area means the spectre of annexation now looms large.
Israeli authorities in March green lit the construction of a separate route for Palestinian vehicles to bypass a central stretch of the occupied West Bank — one of the territory’s most disputed parcels of land.
Israel has promoted the project as a way to further facilitate settlement expansion in the area near occupied East Jerusalem.
But Palestinians warn the move threatens to further isolate their communities and undermines hopes for a contiguous future state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“If they open a road there, that’s it, this area will be annexed,” said Eid Jahaleen, who lives in the Bedouin village of Khan Al-Ahmar.
The village, a cluster of shacks and tents some 10 kilometers from Jerusalem’s Old City, sits surrounded by Israeli settlements.
“It’s going to be hard to reach out to the outside world. No Palestinian services will be allowed to get in here,” he said.
Pro-settler coalition
“If you want clothes, food for your home, (Israel) will be the one to open the gate.”
Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Outposts — unauthorized structures under Israeli law that often precede the establishment of a settlement — have spread rapidly across the West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022, leading a hard-line, pro-settler coalition.
After a new outpost appeared just 100 meters away, Jahaleen said he has “settlers on all sides.”
Israel heavily restricts the movement of West Bank Palestinians, who must obtain permits from authorities to travel through checkpoints to cross into East Jerusalem or Israel.
Far-right ministers have in recent months openly called for Israel’s annexation of the territory.
The alternative bypass would mean Palestinian vehicles driving north-south through the West Bank could travel directly between Palestinian towns rather, without passing the large Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim.
Israel has hailed the move as enabling settlement development between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem on a super-sensitive land corridor known as E1.
Israel has long had ambitions to build on the roughly 12 square kilometers, but the international community has repeatedly warned it could deal a fatal blow to a future Palestinian state.
Maale Adumim’s Mayor Guy Yifrach said the Palestinian bypass would reduce congestion on the current highway between the settlement and Jerusalem and “allow for a natural urban continuity” between the two.
Plans exist to build 4,000 housing units, schools, health clinics and a country club on E1, Yifrach said, but added they had not yet been approved.
Khan al Ahmar, E1 and Maale Adumim all lie within a planned section of Israel’s separation barrier for which construction has been frozen for years.
Israel says the barrier — made up of ditches, roads, razor wire, electronic fences, checkpoints and concrete walls — is necessary to prevent Palestinian attacks.
For Palestinians, the structure further separates them and drastically reduces their freedom of movement.
De facto annexation
Aviv Tatarsky, from the Israeli anti-settlement organization Ir Amim, said that once the road is built, Israel could go ahead with constructing the barrier as planned.
“They want to create this de facto annexation, which means take the space around Maale Adumim and make it an integral part of Jerusalem, of Israel,” he said.
By creating an alternative route for Palestinians to travel through the West Bank, Israel could argue that expanding Jewish settlements in the area would not compromise the contiguity of Palestinian territory, Tatarsky added.
For Mohammad Matter, from the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the road “has nothing to do with making life easier for Palestinians.”
The bypass will trace the northern edge of Matter’s village of Al Eizariya, and he fears it will further squeeze Palestinians into isolated enclaves, connected only through transport corridors.
“They (Israel) are realizing their vision: Israelis walk up high and Palestinians walk through valleys or tunnels,” he said.
‘Settlers on all sides’: West Bank bypass raises fears of Israeli annexation
https://arab.news/wsy5u
‘Settlers on all sides’: West Bank bypass raises fears of Israeli annexation
- Israel has promoted the bypass project as a way to further facilitate settlement expansion in the area near occupied East Jerusalem
- Illegal settler outposts have spread rapidly across the West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022
Lebanon signs gas exploration deal with French-Qatari-Italian consortium
- France’s TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and Italy’s Eni signed for Block 8, planning a 1,200 sq. km 3D seismic survey to assess potential
- Previous searches in Block 4 and 9 did not yield any discoveries
BEIRUT: Lebanon on Friday signed a gas exploration deal for Block 8 with a consortium comprising France’s TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and Italy’s Eni, in a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Office and attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
According to Gaby Daaboul, board member at the Lebanese Petroleum Administration, the agreement stipulates that the consortium will carry out a 3D seismic survey in Block 8, which spans 1,200 sq. km, in preparation for exploratory drilling based on analysis of the survey data.
In 2023, Lebanon marked the resumption of oil and gas exploration in its territorial waters, as a consortium that included Qatar Energy drilled an exploratory well in Block 9.
However, all activities were halted, ostensibly due to the lack of oil or gas. The companies’ cessation of operations coincided with the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Earlier hopes were dashed when gas was not found in Block 4, leaving many Lebanese disappointed.
Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi, who signed the agreement on behalf of the state, described the move as “a confirmation of the consortium’s commitment to continue exploration activities in Lebanon despite all challenges, and a reflection of continued confidence in the petroleum potential of Lebanese territorial waters.
“We look forward to the consortium coordinating and promptly implementing the 3D seismic survey campaign. This will enhance geological and technical understanding of Block 8 and allow for a more accurate assessment of the opportunities available,” the minister said.
He announced the preparation of a file for launching the fourth licensing round, aiming at attracting international companies to invest in open offshore blocks and boost exploration and production activity in Lebanon.
Asked whether there are guarantees that the consortium operating in Block 8 will provide Lebanon with an official technical report, Saddi explained that “for Block 9, an official report was submitted to the Ministry and the Petroleum Sector Administration.”
He noted that oil companies do not spend tens of millions of dollars without expecting results.
“No oil was found in the Block 9 drilling area, but a full report is available. This highlights the importance of the seismic survey in Block 8 to understand the block’s detailed geology, which will guide future exploration,” he said.
Saddi stressed that regional and domestic stability will be key to accelerating the exploration process.
The agreement was signed by Romain de La Martiniere, managing director of Total Lebanon, on behalf of Total Energies; Ali Abdulla Al-Mana, head of exploration at Qatar Energy; and Andrea Cozzi, managing director for Eni’s Lebanon division.
“Lebanon looks forward to continuing its exploration efforts by promoting non-obligatory blocks, with the aim of intensifying exploration activities and achieving a commercial discovery that will boost the national economy and support sustainable development,” Daaboul said.
Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas exploration centers on 10 blocks in its exclusive economic zone, with Blocks 4, 8, 9, and 10 most relevant near the maritime border with Israel.
A 2022 US-brokered maritime border agreement resolved a long dispute, granting Israel full control of the Karish field while assigning Qana Prospect (Block 9) to Lebanon. However, Israel is poised to receive royalties from any future production there.
Lebanon is racing against time to resume exploration after Total’s 2023 drilling in Block 4 yielded negative results, prompting the company to return the block to the Lebanese state. Meanwhile, Israel began commercial production in the area roughly four months later.
Although the company was expected to resume drilling in Block 4 from a different location, it chose to return the block to the Lebanese state, where it will later be included among the blocks offered for exploration.
In 2018, Lebanon signed its first exploration contracts with three companies — Total, Eni, and Russia’s Novatek — to search for oil and gas in two blocks within its territorial waters, Blocks 4 and 9. Of the 10 blocks Lebanon has designated for oil and gas exploration, three are located in its exclusive economic zone.
Lebanese citizens are pinning their hopes on the exploration, anticipating the discovery of oil wells to help revive the struggling economy.
