An Israeli flag flutters as a warship …
Map locating gas fields off Isreal. …
Faced with new challenges posed by major offshore gas discoveries, Israel is looking to significantly increase its military presence on the high seas in a bid to protect its economic waters.
With extraction of vast reserves of recently-discovered natural gas
due to begin next year, top military officials have been putting
together a plan for securing oil rigs stationed within Israel's
exclusive economic zone (EEZ).Israel has been extracting natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean for more than a decade.
But the discovery of huge reserves of close to 700 billion cubic metres (24.7 trillion cubic feet), called Tamar and Leviathan, looks set to put Israel well on the road towards energy independence and even turn it into an exporter.
And it is also likely to provide an attractive target for enemies of the Jewish state.
"The discovery of gas fields spanning a large area within the Mediterranean, west of the coast of Israel, significantly broadens the challenges facing the Israeli navy," the military said in a statement sent to AFP.
"The protection of these strategic assets requires increased resources and extensive preparations."
According to a military map made available to AFP, Israel's EEZ extends 70 nautical miles (129 kilometres) offshore from Rosh HaNikra on the Lebanese border and some 100 nautical miles from Israel's border with Gaza in the south.
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