Lebanon is preparing legal action against Israel for damages over a large oil spill caused by the Israel Air Force's bombing of a power station during the recent conflict, the Lebanese environment minister said Wednesday.

The spill has been described as Lebanon's worst-ever environmental disaster, and experts say it could take up to a year to clean it up.

"This is our right, and we believe they [the Israelis] have transgressed international law... they violated it," Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf said.

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IAF warplanes in mid-July bombed the Jiyyeh power station on the Mediterranean coast some 20 kilometers south of Beirut.

The bombing spilled some 110,000 barrels (more than 17.4 million liters) of oil into the sea, threatening marine life and the local fishing and tourism industries. The slick spread to 150 kilometers of Lebanon's coast and reached Syria's shoreline to the north.

Sarraf estimated the clean up cost at $100 million, but he said the total loss from the bombing "far exceeds that figure."

"We are waiting for the feedback from the fishing and tourism industries to make a more thorough assessment," he said.

The minister said Lebanon would pursue the legal action against Israel on two levels, one at the International Court of Justice at The Hague and the second at the United Nations.

He explained that the legal action was being prepared by the Lebanese justice ministry and that it would be a "component" of an overall assessment by the cabinet of compensation that Lebanon would seek for the damage that stemmed from the 34-day war.

Lebanon suffered damage to roads and other civilian infrastructure during the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas, which ended in a cease-fire on August 14.

Efforts to clean up the spill were blocked by the Israel Defense Forces' naval blockade, which was only lifted late last week.

Much of the coastline now fouled by oil was buzzing with tourists before the fighting broke out on July 12.