EGYPT: Court overturns ban on natural gas to Israel
The Highest Administrative Court has dealt a serious blow to the Egyptian opposition by overturning an earlier verdict banning the exportation of Egyptian natural gas to the state of Israel.
The court ruled Monday that the government acted within its jurisdiction when it decided to export surplus natural gas to Israel in 2005. The decision overturned an earlier verdict that found the executive branch needed approval of Parliament before it could provide Israel with 1.7-billion cubic meters of natural gas a year.
The Egyptian-Israeli gas agreement came into the limelight after an independent newspaper alleged last year that Cairo was selling gas to Israel at cut-rate prices. The report resonated strongly with many Egyptians who still perceive Israel as an enemy despite the peace agreement signed with the Jewish state in the late 1970s.
Shortly after the newspaper article broke, a campaign was launched to end the exportation of gas to Israel. Campaigners held that Monday's verdict "was shocking to everybody." They had reportedly vowed to hold mock trials to expose the beneficiaries of an agreement that drained Egypt’s resources.
—Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo
Photo: Demonstrators raise banners in protest of the exportation of gas to Israel Monday. Credit: Ahmed El-Masry / Al-Masry al-Youm
P.S. Get news from Iran, Gaza, Israel and the rest of the Middle East in your mailbox every day. The Los Angeles Times distributes a free daily newsletter with the latest headlines from the Middle East, including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can subscribe by logging in at the website here, clicking on the box for "L.A. Times updates" and then clicking on the "World: Mideast" box.
Actually, Israel had cut off fuel supplies to "its arab neighbours" by which I assume you mean Gaza, well before it embarked on its recent month long bombing spree
truly hope Israel's gas find is plentiful, because at this point , I really fail to see how normalization of relations with its energy exporting neighbors will be going anywhere any time soon
Posted by: H M | February 04, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Egypt is one of U.S.’s most important bilateral trading partners. I read at http://www.export-usa.com in what sectors are made the biggest U.S. investments. As major infrastructure projects are constantly being made, American companies will find attractive opportunities here.
Posted by: Alex Baran | February 04, 2009 at 06:58 AM
reading about the iranian satellite.
we should all applaud any country's scientific progress. with luck anyone should be able to accurately target justifiable objectives, rather than send unguided barages of rockets.
kudos to all who persevere.
Posted by: kl | February 03, 2009 at 02:09 PM
Egypt court decision to overturn banning sale gas to Israel is a smart business decision.
Natural gas is available from just any country and it is burned and not sold as by product in the middle east by oil producing countries.
Israel just now discovered gas wells off the shore of the city of Haifa that will be enough for Israel consumption and export for the next few hundred years.
Let the Egyptian keep their gas, no body else will buy it anyway.
Posted by: Yoel Cohen | February 03, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Isn't ot sad how the Israeli actions are never appreciated by those that benefit the most from them.
This attempt to stop gas to Israel is a poor thank you for Israel supplying fuel to Arab neighbours during a war and while these same people were firing 8000 rockets at Israel.
Ingratitude is the first sign of lack of human values.
Posted by: Joe Schoemann | February 03, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Sure the decision was reversed after a major natural gas
deposit was found by an Israeli company off the coast .
The Egyptains don't want to lose the business. But I
hope that they already have.
Posted by: elihu i | February 03, 2009 at 09:11 AM