Following the formal complaint from the Argentine Foreign Ministry regarding the illegal advancement of the Sea Lion oil project in the northern basin of the Malvina Islands, the Israeli government, through its Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and its diplomatic mission in Buenos Aires, has attempted a balancing act that raises more questions than it answers . By characterizing Navitas Petroleum's actions as a "strictly private" decision, the State of Israel not only evades its international responsibility but also effectively condones a violation of United Nations resolutions.

The company over the State

The argument put forward by the Israeli ambassador on social media maintains that, since Navitas is a private company, the government has no say in its dealings with the British firm Rockhopper Exploration . However, this argument raises a dangerous question about the sovereignty of states: Do Israeli corporations have more decision-making power than their own government in matters that affect international strategic relations?

Recently, the Israeli company Navitas Petroleum announced that its British subsidiary, Navitas Petroleum Development and Production, will carry out activities in the South Atlantic Ocean, in an area whose sovereignty is disputed between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Israel…

By not issuing a sanction, a warning, or an administrative measure against a company born and founded in its territory that operates with illegal licenses granted by a colonial power, Israel is, by omission, taking sides .

The supposed "neutrality" vanishes when an entity under its jurisdiction is allowed to ignore the sovereignty dispute and actively collaborate with the British administration in the islands.

The neglect of UN resolutions

The ambassador stated that Israel hopes for a resolution through "dialogue and peaceful means." However, these statements deliberately omit UN General Assembly Resolution 31/49 , which urges the parties to refrain from unilaterally altering the situation while the decolonization process is ongoing.

The exploration and future exploitation of hydrocarbons is, precisely, a large-scale unilateral modification . By allowing Navitas to be the majority partner in Sea Lion, Israel is not being a neutral observer, but rather becoming an indirect beneficiary of an activity that the international community is calling for a halt to.

Let Navitas' profits return to Argentina

If the Israeli government insists it has no connection to Navitas and that it values its relationship with Javier Milei's administration in a "special and solid" way, it has a historic opportunity to demonstrate this with actions, not just diplomatic rhetoric. And if it declares itself unable to stop the company, yet its treasury will inevitably benefit from the taxes and dividends Navitas generates by illegally extracting Argentine oil, those funds should be liquidated and remitted to the Republic of Argentina.

Only a measure of this kind—the restitution of profits derived from the dispossession—would validate the supposed "friendship" between the two nations . Otherwise, Israel's message is clear: the profitability of its companies takes precedence over international law and the territorial integrity of its allies.

Returning their profits would, in short, be a global example of the fight against economic colonialism and an act of real justice in the face of the imminent plunder in the South Atlantic of a people that harbors in its territory the most important community of Israelites in South America.