The EU has been looking for ways to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, and Israel, which has discovered major offshore gas sources in recent years, wants to help. block to diversify its energy supply. Von der Leyen said the EU was continuing preparations for two “major” infrastructure projects designed to strengthen energy ties with Israel: a gas and hydrogen pipeline in the eastern Mediterranean and a submarine cable connecting Israel with Cyprus and Greece. “Since the beginning of the war, Russia has deliberately cut off gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Dutch companies, Danish companies, in retaliation for our support for Ukraine,” von der Leyen said. visiting a university in southern Israel. “But the Kremlin’s behavior has only strengthened our determination to break free from our dependence on Russian fossil fuels.” Mario Draghi, left, and Naftali Bennett in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on Tuesday © AP Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also discussed energy co-operation with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who paid his own visit to Israel on Tuesday. But as a result of the complexity of developing Mediterranean gas resources, Bennett also criticized Lebanese leaders for “unnecessary disagreements.” This follows a dispute between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations, over a disputed offshore gas field. A US State Department official, Amos Hochstein, is in Beirut this week to help mediate the dispute after a ship operated by the Greek oil and gas exploration company on the London Stock Exchange, Energean Kar, arrived at June 5. The company said its gas platform was scheduled to start production there in the third quarter. While Israel says the field is located in an area recognized by the UN as its exclusive economic zone, Lebanon says the area is disputed. US-mediated talks between the two countries stalled last year after Lebanese negotiators proposed a new maritime border, which significantly expanded the territory it claimed to Israel. Hassan Nasrallah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah leader, said earlier this month that his team was ready to act if Israel began drilling before an agreement could be reached. Strong political and paramilitary forces have fought several wars with Israel, and Nasrallah has previously said he would vigilantly protect Lebanon’s economic rights. Israel’s energy and defense ministers said last week that the drill was in Israeli waters and would not pump gas from a disputed area. However, they warned that Israel “prioritizes the protection of its strategic assets and is ready to defend the security of its infrastructure”. Reports in the Lebanese media suggest that the government was preparing to offer a compromise to resolve the dispute, which could include withdrawing the claim to the enlarged maritime border or exchanging Karish with another nearby field, Qana. Asked about the possibility of an exchange, Hochstein told the US-backed Al Hurra television network that Lebanon was “considering what kind of compromise can be reached in which the Israelis can agree and not feel [they are] “They are pushing for something against their interests, while maintaining the most important part of Lebanon’s interests.”
