Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter. A sign that reads, "Danger, polluted sea" is placed on Haifa beach, northern Israel, next to bags full of tar collected by volunteers following an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea, February 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) The oil spill that has caused the contamination of almost the entire stretch of Israel’s Mediterranean coast with tar is “without doubt a case of malice,” Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel told a press briefing Monday. “Either the ship dumped oil into the sea on purpose, or the oil leaked out because of a fault,” she said. Either way, the ship’s owner “lacked compassion toward [marine] wildlife and nature and did not inform the authorities.”