(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Israel responded with a yawn on Wednesday to Lebanese media reports that the country might complain to the UN Security Council about the maritime border approved by the Israeli cabinet on July 10. Israel made the move now because under international maritime law, if one country makes a claim and another country does not counter it, the silence of the second country is viewed as acquiescence. One Israeli official said Lebanon violated international maritime law by unilaterally demarcating the border last year. According to the official, borders cannot be marked unilaterally, but rather must be agreed upon by both countries, or be sent to an arbitrator that both sides agree upon. Since Lebanon refused to do either, the official said, it can't just set the maritime border on its own. Once it did, Israel had no choice but to do the same in order to protect its interests.
2011-07-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive