Publications

Israel is in the second decade of a natural gas revolution, thanks to natural gas found in large quantities in Israel’s economic waters in the Mediterranean Sea. The use of natural gas is an important contribution to  environmental quality and brings with it significant economic advantages. At the same time, the gas revolution brings with it several complex dilemmas, for example, how to divide the benefits from the gas reserves between this generation and the next; this division relates to the amount of local consumption and gas export in the current generation and the balance left for the next generation. The gas discoveries have strengthened Israel’s energy security, but have presented a new security challenge, namely, the defense of vital gas installations located far offshore. In the realm of foreign affairs, gas export may make a political contribution, but gas is the source of strife with Lebanon over control of economic waters, and a similar conflict might arise with other neighbors.