An Israeli oil well has been reported to contain a much larger reserve than originally estimated. The oil exploration company, Givat Olam, has now increased its estimate to 3.53 billion barrels of oil and has already sold $40 million worth of oil from the site.
While Israel is now facing a bright
future as an oil producer, there is one problem: Meged 5 is located on
the Green Line, the official border between Israel and Palestine. Lying a
few dozen meters inside Palestinian territory, according to
international law and the Oslo Accords, the well should belong to
Palestine.
In answer to this problem, Israel has
adjusted the path of its separation barrier, bringing Meged 5 onto its
side of the wall. While the well is now under de facto Israeli control,
most of the reserves lie under Palestinian territory.
Israel has been consistent in keeping the Palestinian economy in a stranglehold, according to a recent report by The World Bank, and has prevented the Palestinians from gaining full access to key natural resources.
According to the report, if control of
Area C were returned to Palestine, the Palestinian Authority could
generate an additional $3.4 billion in revenue, increasing its GDP by a
full third and freeing it from aid dependence. It is important to note
that this estimate does not take into account any possible revenue from a
successful oil well, which could very well make Palestine financially
independent.
