The Egyptian natural gas pipeline to Israel has come under attacks in recent months. Terrorists have blow up parts of it to disrupt the flow of oil. Now the Egyptian government has halted the gas to glow to Israel. Egyptian officials claim this is a permanent and state its a dispute between two companies.
Steinitz, Mofaz say move endangers peace treaty, however, senior Egyptian military official is quoted as saying gas deal was not nullified, but rather halted because of a business dispute regarding transfer of payment.
Egypt on Sunday terminated a long-term gas deal with Israel, a stakeholder said, prompting Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to express “deep concern” over what he described as a move diminishing the peace treaty between the two countries.
Neither the Foreign Ministry nor the Prime Minister’s Office had any comment on the report, with one Foreign Ministry official saying that the relevant authorities were “looking into” the matter.
[….]
However, diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said after speaking with their counterparts in Egypt Sunday night that the issue was part of a commercial dispute between private companies and Egyptian government corporations that is presently being adjudicated abroad.
The officials said that this had nothing to do with the status of Egyptian-Israeli diplomatic relations. A senior Egyptian military official was quoted as saying on Egyptian television that the gas deal was not nullified, but rather halted because of a business dispute regarding the transfer of payment.
Hopefully, this is just a dispute over payments. But something tells me this is political. The Arab Spring and the Popular Uprising continues! John McCain could not be reached for comment.
Tags: Arab Spring, Popular Uprising, Sinai
