Resistance on the high seas

The stakes are growing in the looming confrontation between Lebanon and Israel over the suspected existence of massive fossil fuel deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. The delight in Israel at the recent discovery of two large gas fields off its northern coastline has given way to concerns that it could provide the pretext for a new war with Hezbollah. That anxiety has hardened with the uncertainties regarding Israel’s arrangement to purchase Egyptian gas following the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s regime and calls in Cairo to annul the agreement. The upshot is that the potential oil and gas wealth in the eastern Mediterranean could provide an economic windfall for the countries in the area — Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Cyprus — but it also represents a colossal security headache. The two gas fields off the northern Israel coast — Tamar and Leviathan — contain an estimated 237.8 billion cubic meters and