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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221021-the-palestinians-in-gaza-must-watch-in-silence-as-their-natural-resources-are-stolen/">middleeastmonitor.com</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">The Palestinians in Gaza must watch in silence as their natural resources are stolen</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Motasem A Dallou - October 21, 2022</div></div>
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<p>Since the beginning of October, news reports have mentioned a <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221019-egypt-pa-and-israel-agree-to-develop-gaza-gas-field/">tripartite agreement</a>
between Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Israel to develop a
natural gas field off the shores of the besieged Gaza Strip. As recently
as Monday, <em>Wafa</em> news agency reported PA Prime Minister
Mohammad Shtayyeh as saying that the PA had selected a group of
ministers to discuss the issue of Palestinian gas with Egypt and follow
up the issue with the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF).</p>
<p>On Tuesday, the Israeli public broadcaster <em>Kan</em> revealed that this trilateral agreement had been reached between Egypt, the PA and Israel, but no details were provided.</p>
<p>Gas exploration off the Gaza coast started in 1999. A year later, the
British Gas Company (now the BG Group) discovered gas in a field known
as Gaza Marine. It is about 30 kilometres west of the Gaza Strip and is
estimated to contain more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.</p>
<p>The cost of development of the field is estimated at about $1.2
billion. It has remained untapped because the PIF, which is responsible
for its development, has been unable to do anything due to restrictions
imposed by the Israeli occupation. Even the BG Group was obliged to
terminate its contract with the PIF due to the Israeli obstacles.</p>
<p>A number of reports since Tuesday have claimed that Israel, the PA
and Egypt will benefit from the natural gas taken from Gaza Marine.
However, on the same day, <em>Anadolu</em> reported an unnamed <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221020-palestine-denies-deal-with-israel-egypt-on-gaza-gas-field/">Palestinian source</a>
as saying that the reports about the tripartite agreement are
"inaccurate". The source said that Israel will not get anything from
"our" gas. "This is unacceptable," he insisted. "Israel is just required
not to obstruct the work."</p>
<p>That is not what one Israeli journalist has told me. According to
Baruch Yedid, Israel will indeed have a major share of the revenues from
Gaza Marine.</p>
<p>Other sources reported by <em>Al Araby Al Jadeed</em> said that an
Egyptian economic and security delegation has discussed the issue of
developing Gaza Marine with Israel. A member of the PLO Executive
Committee told <em>Al Monitor</em> that Egypt had informed the PA about
Israel's approval to start developing the Palestinian gas field off the
Gaza coast. Egypt, said <em>Al Araby Al Jadeed</em>, held several
"secret meetings" with Israeli officials to get the occupation state's
agreement to start developing Gaza Marine jointly with the PA.</p>
<p>Egyptian efforts to get a share of the gas started last year when, according to <em>Egypt Independent</em>,
the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) began talks with the
PIF and the Consolidated Contractors Company for Oil and Gas (CCC), the
parties licensed to develop the field. The PIF owns 27.5 per cent of the
field's shares; the CCC owns 27.5 per cent; and 45 per cent will be for
the operating company. EGAS hopes to be the developer.</p>
<p>A senior PA official, who asked to remain anonymous, told me that an
initial agreement had been reached, but a final deal has yet to be
signed. He did not mention any timeline, but reports claim that it could
be by the end of this year. The official also said that Israel agreed
to get involved in serious talks about the gas at the request of the EU,
"hoping that this gas would end up in European storage tanks."</p>
<p>The official explained that under the initial agreement Egypt and
Israel will monitor operations in the gas field, with Egypt taking some
of the gas by 2025, assuming everything goes smoothly. Most of the gas
will be sent to Europe by Israel, which will share the resultant
revenues with the PA.</p>
<p>According to the anonymous PA official, some of the revenues will be
spent on developing the Palestinian economy in Gaza. "Israel, though,
wants to make sure that none of the money goes to Hamas." The occupation
state has been claiming for years that it blocked the development of
Gaza Marine fearing that Hamas, which has been the de facto authority in
the besieged enclave since 2006, would benefit from the profits.</p>
<p>In 2007, the then Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon claimed that
Hamas would have used revenues from Gaza Marine to fund attacks against
Israel, the PA and "Israeli gas facilities". Since then, nothing has
changed on the ground: Hamas still governs the Gaza Strip, and the
Israeli-Egyptian siege, backed by the PA and some Arab and European
countries, is still in place. And Israel still touts its fears about
"security".</p>
<p>What has changed, however, is the emergent European demand for gas
due to the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the PA's serious need for
finance, which the Arab and EU countries as well as the US are either
unable or reluctant to provide.</p>
<p>It is now clear that everyone is going to benefit from the natural
gas off the coast of Gaza except those who probably need it the most:
the Palestinians in the besieged territory. Egypt wins as a developer;
the PA gets the revenues as the nominal owner; Israel takes a cut as a
facilitator; and the EU gets the gas a consumer. Meanwhile, the
residents of Gaza, who have been suffering from a severe lack of cooking
gas, oil and electricity for fifteen years and more, will have to watch
in silence as their natural resources are stolen from under their
noses.</p>
<p>Nobody believes that the revenue from Gaza Marine will, in part, be
used to boost Gaza's economy. We have been hearing promise after promise
on such matters for years, and nothing has ever materialised, because
Israel always comes up with some new "security" issue and refuses to
ease or lift the siege. The PA, meanwhile, is very open about its
disdain towards the Palestinians in Gaza, so promises from Ramallah are
worthless.</p>
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