Egypt terminates gas deal with Israel
Egypt has terminated its gas deal with Israel. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said he viewed with "deep concern the unilateral Egyptian announcement over terminating the gas deal with Israel, both because of its diplomatic and economic aspects. This is a dangerous precedent that diminishes the peace treaty" between the neighboring countries.YNet adds:
Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz said he views the decision as a "blatant violation" of the 1979 treaty.
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The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty stipulates that Cairo is obligated to provide its neighbor with as much oil as it could pay for – the wording was later changed from oil to natural gas.
Still, a deal was not signed until 2005, and the $460-million pipeline inaugurated four years later.
Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which operates the pipeline, said the Egyptian companies involved had notified EMG they were "terminating the gas and purchase agreement."I guess now they have another item to add to that lawsuit.
The company said in a statement that the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company had notified them of the decision, adding that "EMG considers the termination attempt unlawful and in bad faith, and consequently demanded its withdrawal".
It said EMG, Ampal, which is controlled by Israeli businessman Yossi Meiman, and EMG's other international shareholders were "considering their options and legal remedies as well as approaching the various governments".
Before the sabotage, Egypt supplied about 40% of Israel's natural gas, which is the country's main energy source.
In October 2011 EMG took legal action against the Egyptian government's energy companies and filed an $8 billion lawsuit against the Egyptians, claiming they had breached agreements obligating them to supply natural gas to the company.
I would say that the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty is doomed, and with it any semblance of stability in the region. But I'm sure that the Obama administration still considers getting rid of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak an A+ move.
What more could go wrong?
Labels: Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, natural gas
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:41 PM
5 Comments:
Well the upside is that Egyptians will make a quantum leap in human evolution since they will be forced to photosynthesize their food just like plants.
Alhamdulliah!
At last Egypt has real men in power. Treaties with enemies is not what a Muslim ruler/President or Prime Minister should sign.
Tear them up.
But I'm sure that the Obama administration still considers getting rid of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak an A+ move.
Eeer No. It was the Egyptian people who did. Jordan next.
All these tin pot traitors who betray their people with morally bankrupt policies for power will fall, Inshallah.
Egypt's ElBaradei Threatens War With Israel
The prime minister is making new overtures to Iran — and a leading presidential candidate is threatening war with Israel.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency who has announced his candidacy for president in Egypt, said on Monday that “if Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime.”
The Digital Journal observed: “In the world's first glimpse of the policies that may emerge from the results of the upcoming Egyptian presidential election, one candidate for president outlined his insistence on protecting Palestinians in Gaza from Israeli military assaults. Mohamed ElBaradei's position on the matter is clear: An Israeli military strike against Gaza would result in a declaration of war from Egypt.”
In an interview with the Arab newspaper Al-Watan reported by the ynetnews website, ElBaradei also declared: “In case of any future Israeli attack on Gaza, as the next president of Egypt, I will open the Rafah border crossing and will consider different ways to implement the joint Arab defense agreement.
“Israel controls the Palestinian soil and there has been no tangible breakthrough in the process of reconciliation because of the imbalance of power in the region and the situation there is a kind of one-way peace.”
On Tuesday, Palestinian militants in Gaza launched three mortar shells at Israel, and Israeli forces killed an armed Palestinian near the Israel-Gaza border.
“Pressure has been mounting along Israel’s border with the coastal enclave in recent weeks, as Gaza militants and Israeli forces traded blows in what some fear are signs of a large-scale military escalation,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Also on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al Arabi said his country is ready to open a “new page” with Iran.
“Egypt has opened a new page with all countries of the world, including Iran,” Al Arabi said. “The Egyptian and Iranian people deserve relations which reflect their history and civilization.”
Al Arabi’s remarks came during a meeting with Iranian official Mojtaba Amani, who gave him a letter from Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, AFP reported.
Salehi urged Egypt to explore ways to improve relations between the two countries.
Iran broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1980 in protest of Egypt’s recognition of Israel.
Salehi also invited Al Arabi to visit Tehran, and expressed a desire to visit Cairo himself.
Mobarak was a traitor who sold out his country and people.
He is lucky he hasn't been hanged for treason.
Neither the Jordanian nor the Egyptian people supported the 'peace' deal with Israel and they were not consulted.
Israel never had peace with Egypt or Jordan. It only had a relation of convenience with sell out traitors with morally bankrupt values.
As I said Chayma an economy has to be based on more than simply selling tickets to "The Triumph of the Will" to one another. But good luck with all of that. If anyone has billions of dollars to not need, it's Egypt.
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