ISRAEL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yoav Harris and Domiana Abboud, Harris & Co Maritime Law Office
Another confiscation matter pending before the Haifa Maritime Court relates to the vessel Handala , captured by the Israeli Navy on 26 July 2025. Those who have appeared in court on behalf of the vessel argued, inter alia, that as a vehicle for delivering medical/humanitar - ian aid, Handala should have been permitted to arrive on Gaza’s shore and is immune from being detained and confiscated. On 27 October 2022, in the UN case Naqura , the Israeli and Lebanon delegations signed the Israel– Lebanon Maritime Border Agreement, demarcating the maritime boundary line between the countries. The Israeli–Lebanese agreement complements the agree - ments between Lebanon and Cyprus (January 2007) and Israel and Cyprus (December 2010) with regard to delimitation of the exclusive economic zones of the two countries. These agreements have established stability in rela - tion to the boundaries of Israel’s exclusive economic zone; this will impact natural gas drilling and related maritime and shipping activities in these areas, which are expected to increase once stability is achieved in the region.
The Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalisation Between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, followed by normalisation agreements with Bahrain, remained solid throughout the two years of war that began with the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. As long as the ceasefire holds, and the Houthi attacks on vessels navigating through the Red Sea at the Bab- al Mandab Straits come to an end, the activities of Israeli ports located in Eilat, Ashdod and Haifa are expected to increase. If Gaza enters a period of reha - bilitation, and commerce between Turkey and Israel resumes, the increase in activities of the Israeli ports is expected to be greater still. The Haifa Maritime Court has already shown its capac - ity to accommodate diverse international interests. For example, it has exercised its rights in favour of a bunker supplier located in Dubai (arresting MV Huseyn Javid for unpaid bunkers) and a Libyan owner (in can - celling the Israeli registration of MV BADR). With the conclusion of the Abraham Accords, claimants from the Persian Gulf, and other Middle Eastern claimants and interests, will find the Haifa Maritime Court to be a favourable jurisdiction.
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