Palestinian Authority Cancels Israel Gas Deal after Outcry

A file photo of Omar Kittaneh, Head of the Palestinian Energy Authority with Tony Blair.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) will not ratify a preliminary agreement to import natural gas supplies from Israel for 20 years signed more than a year ago, sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The value of the deal is estimated to be 1.2 billion US dollars.Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said Tuesday that ministers have decided to cancel the deal, adding that PA had taken a strategic decision to focus its efforts on developing gas fields off the coast of Gaza.

Omar Kittaneh, Head of the Palestinian Energy Authority was keen to distance the PA from the deal, saying that the PA was not part of the agreement.

The Palestine Power Generation Company, which signed the deal with Delek-Noble, an Israeli American private company, confirmed that it had revoked the agreement and will seek to get Palestinian natural gas instead.

Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a well informed source close to the Palestinian Power Generation company told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed they suspended the deal last summer after a disagreement with the Israeli government on certain aspects of the deal.

The source added that the Palestinian company did not announce the suspension of the deal at the time, hoping that it could use it as a bargaining chip to secure further commercial concessions.

– Read more: Palestinian Authority Cancels Israel Gas Deal after Outcry – Fatima AbdulKarim, Alaraby
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