As if Israel and Lebanon don’t have enough to quarrel about these days, here comes the latest fight: Gas fields.

A recent finding of a big natural gas field (“Leviathan”) by an Israeli consortium, has re-sparked a dispute between the countries, regarding the naval territorial borders and the ownership of natural resources. The newly discovered field is estimated to contain 15 trillion cubic feet of gas and according to one of the drilling partners, it might even allow Israel to export gas to other countries in the future.

The Israeli announcement of the discovery at the beginning of June was followed by Lebanese claims that parts of the gas fields actually belong to them. Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri declared earlier this month that a part of the gas field is found in Lebanon’s territorial water. Similar Lebanese complaints arose last year when other natural gas fields where discovered by Israel.

In response to the Lebanese claims, Israel’s Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau sent a harsh message to Lebanon today, saying: “We will not hesitate to use our force and strength to protect not only the rule of law but the international maritime law”.