Palestinians take action to demarcate maritime borders
Palestinian officials are discussing demarcating their maritime borders with the Arab League and the United Nations, threatening to resort to international courts should Israel refuse to cooperate.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The state of Palestine has taken legal and procedural steps to demarcate its maritime borders. On Oct. 8, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki handed Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit a legal file on the demarcation prepared by the Palestinian government.
This move, which aims to reinforce the status of the Palestinian state around the world, is part of a series of actions taken by the Palestinian government in recent years in this direction.
In 2015, Palestine participated for the first time in the meeting of state signatories to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in New York, where Palestinian officials confirmed their commitment to the convention and stressed the rights of people to benefit from natural resources and preserving the environment. The Palestinian Authority (PA) held demarcation talks in June 2016 with Egypt, with which it shares a common maritime border. The PA is also expected to hold talks with Cyprus for the same purpose.
In June 2017, a national team of experts was formed to work on demarcating the Palestinian maritime borders of the Mediterranean Sea.
