Environment Minister discusses initiative to collect compensation for 2006's Israeli bombing of fuel tanks

Caretaker Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, discussed with the Green Party of Lebanon Lebanon's compensation from the Israeli side resulting from the oil spill due to the 2006 aggression.  

This step was taken in preparation for launching a conference in coordination with the Ministry of Environment after the decision issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which gave Lebanon the right to receive financial compensation that Israel must pay because of the environmental damage that resulted from targeting the fuel tanks in Jiyeh.  

The Green Party of Lebanon, in agreement with the Minister of the Environment, chose April 8, 2023, to launch a local, regional, and international path of solidarity with Lebanon to force Israel to comply with the provisions of the resolution issued annually by the United Nations General Assembly and in the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on August 14, 2014, on the calculated value of damages resulting from the Israeli bombing.  

This was based on the work of the UN and international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Environment Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.  

Green Party of Lebanon's head, Fadi Abi Allam, reiterated Israel's responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to the government of Lebanon and other countries that were directly affected by the oil slick and to the Green Party's direction to hold a specialized national conference to coincide with the anniversary of the aggression on July 15, 2023, and to form a national, regional and international alliance to raise this issue. 

For his part, the Minister of Environment stressed the importance of the environmental path to be part of the political struggle, expressing the need to rationalize political reform in the country based on an ethical, environmental approach, as well as drawing up a roadmap for ecological policy in Lebanon based on a cultural and educational process that reflects the general principles and international standards that Lebanon is supposed to follow.  

He said, "I remind this in every regional and international meeting, but on the other hand, we have to admit that we, as a Lebanese state, do not currently have more than our ability to constantly remind our rights concerning this type of file, and we must fully carry out our duties in this file, especially that no serious effort of this kind has yet been made to collect these compensations.  

Minister Yassin welcomed the initiative of the Green Party, which is the first to create a serious international path to follow up on the merits of this file, and to collect the necessary compensation for the Lebanese state, adding, "We will work to allocate a financial fund through Banque du Liban for that purpose, as the trust fund that was allocated in 2006 no longer exists.  

He also considered that the timing - July 15 - is excellent for launching this campaign, adding that there is only environmental reform with political reform because the main gateway to the environment is engagement in political action since environmental corruption has a political basis.   

He also recommended preparing an environmental fund to receive financial compensation, especially since "we are coming on projects related to gas and oil exploration."