Egypt cancels gas suppy deals with Israel
The AP Wire reports something that probably should have been forseen happening with all the chaos in Egypt:
The head of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company said Sunday it has terminated its contract to ship gas to Israel because of violations of contractual obligations, a decision Israel said overshadows the peace agreement between the two countries.It's better that way. Besides, what could they possibly expect of a country run by the Religion of Peace today? There was never a real treaty to begin with, and if Egypt wouldn't abandon the RoP, then the treaty couldn't be expected to have a long-term success.
The 2005 natural gas deal has become a symbol of tensions between Israel and Egypt since the uprising. For many Egyptians, it typifies the close relations the regime of deposed President Hosni Mubarak forged with Israel and how his associates benefited greatly from such business deals. [...]
Egyptian militants have blown up the gas pipeline to Israel 14 times since the uprising more than a year ago. [...]
On Sunday, Israel Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said the unilateral Egyptian announcement was of "great concern" politically and economically.
"This is a dangerous precedent that overshadows the peace agreements and the peaceful atmosphere between Israel and Egypt," he said in a statement. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, but relations have never been warm.
The Israeli side said the decision was "unlawful and in bad faith," accusing the Egyptian side of failing to supply the gas quantities it is owed.
Israel insists it is paying a fair price for the gas. Israel's electricity company has been warning of possible power shortages this summer, partly because of the unreliability of the natural gas supply from Egypt.
For the long term, Israel is developing its own natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast and is expected to be self-sufficient in natural gas in a few years.
