The Palestinian delegation participating in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum stressed the need for the forum to ensure that all member states are committed to the basic principles of international law as a precondition for any sustainable regional or international cooperation, as a proclaimed and consistent Palestinian position, forms the basis of Palestinian membership in the forum and regulates all its positions, legal and procedural, in its corridors.

In its formal address to the forum’s ministerial meeting, the delegation stressed that “Palestine has still not been able to develop its natural gas resources, despite being discovered over 20 years ago, and that Israel’s obstruction of the development of the Palestinian national natural resources is just one of many aspects.” For the devastating consequences of the fifty-five years of ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories, the longest colonial occupation in modern history.

He stressed that “the principles on which the forum was founded, namely the need to respect international law and mutual respect for the rights of Member States over their natural resources, are incompatible with the failure to act with the minimum guarantees necessary for the State of Palestine to exercise its right to development of their natural resources, but rather the opposite. Palestine is facing constant Israeli delays that hinder the development of these resources.”

He pointed out that “the same principles are also incompatible with attempts to push Israeli gas exports to European Union markets, while they do not apply when it comes to Palestinian rights.”

The State of Palestine reiterated that “one of the most important things necessary for the success of the forum is to ensure that each of the member states has the opportunity to control and develop its resources for the benefit of its people, especially at a time when recent global events have highlighted the importance of natural gas not only as a transitional energy resource for a green economy, but also as a key commodity supporting global economic stability, and that the ability of countries to export to world markets and open prospects for national development is based on respect for the foundations of international law.

The participating delegation renewed its call for the forum to “ensure that all its member states respect its goals, stated message and approved charter so that Palestine can develop its natural resources, starting with the development of the Gaza Marin gas field, which demands that Israel immediately and will unequivocally announce the removal of any obstacles.” Ahead is the development of this field and all Palestinian natural resources.