Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry is blaming Israel for pollution that has fouled the Mediterranean waters along its coastline, according to a report published Wednesday by the Business Standard website.
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The Beirut government filed a complaint to the United Nations, requesting an investigation into the oil spill that reached the shores of Tyre in south Lebanon, spanning some 200 meters of a nature reserve late last month — the same oil spill that polluted the Mediterranean waters and coastline of the Jewish State.
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In a statement Tuesday, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it asked for UN technical support to determine the cause of the oil spill and the responsible party, to enable Lebanon to claim compensation for the environmental damage it caused.
“Lebanon does not have the capacity to address this environmental disaster and limit its incessant repercussions,” the statement said.
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab blamed an Israeli ship for the oil spill, according to Business Standard.
Not the First Time
In 2014, the United Nations asked Israel to financially compensate Lebanon for damage created by an oil slick allegedly generated when Israeli fighter jets bombed a power station during the 2006 Second Lebanon War with the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
The damaged power station leaked some 15,000 tons of oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea at the time, stretching for some 120 kilometers (75 miles) along the coastline.
In the resolution calling for Israel to compensate Lebanon at that time, the United Nations called the incident an “environmental disaster.”
Discussions about the damage dragged on for years, however, during which Israel had already taken steps to assist, which its UN Mission argued mitigated the need for any further financial compensation.