May Israel as a Belligerent Occupant Lawfully Exploit Previously Unexploited Oil Resources of the Gulf of Suez?

Abstract

Since shortly after the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has sought to reduce its dependence on imported oil by exploiting the resources of captured Egyptian territory. Until recently attention was centered on the Sinai’s Abu Rhodeis fields, which in 1974 were reported to be meeting 55 percent of Israel’s needs. In 1975, however, these fields were returned to Egypt as part of the second Egypt-Israel Disengagement Agreement. Previously unexploited areas of the eastern Gulf of Suez then became the subject of Israeli efforts, and by the fall of 1976 exploratory drilling was in progress off the Sinai coast. On November 25, 1977, Israel announced that this drilling had resulted in a commercial strike, and on March 29, 1978, it was reported that commercial production had begun. The question whether Israel may rightfully exploit the oil resources of the Gulf thus came sharply into focus.