Publishing a Peer-Reviewed Article on Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Top International Journal on the Law of the Sea (Scopus Q-1)

Dr. Mutaz M. Qafisheh, Professor of International Law at the College of Law and Political Science of Hebron University, published a peer-reviewed article titled “Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Boundary Delimitation: The Claims of the State of Palestine under UNCLOS’, in an international journal named Ocean Development & International Law (Scopus CiteScore 2.0), Taylor & Francis/Routledge, London, Vol. 55, Issue 3. This journal possesses the highest impact factor in the field of the law of the sea at the global level and classified as a Q-1 (Best Quartile) journal by Scopus. This article forms the third of a series of papers published by the same author in the field of the law of the sea as it relates to Palestine and was largely written during his fellowship as part of a joint program, on the future of international law, among the Free University of Berlin and Potsdam University as well as the University of Oxford.

The article argues that the 2015 accession of Palestine to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has implications for the rights and obligations of Eastern Mediterranean States. Palestine’s maritime entitlements under UNCLOS are almost two and a half times the land area of the Gaza Strip in the form of a territorial sea. Palestine’s maritime sovereign rights may extend up to 200 Nautical Miles offshore Gaza within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf with tremendous economic potential, particularly after the recent discovery of massive gas reserves offshore Gaza. The article examines Palestine’s maritime claims under international law and the corresponding delimitation process with neighboring States: Egypt, Israel and Cyprus. It explores the ways that would enforce UNCLOS in the East Mediterranean region that may contribute to an equitable settlement of disputes among the countries overlooking that region.

The article can be accessed online through the following link: https://doi.org/10.1080/00908320.2024.2398015