Reuters reported that Israel, aiming to avoid further damage to its troubled ties with Cairo saw the Egyptian termination of a deal to supply Israel with natural gas as part of a business rather than a diplomatic dispute.

Mr Avigdor Lieberman foreign minister of Israel said that the cancellation of the deal was not a good sign but we want to understand this as a trade dispute. I think that to turn a business dispute into a diplomatic dispute would be a mistake. Israel is interested in maintaining the peace treaty and we think this is also a supreme interest of Egypt.

The Egyptian company EGAS confirmed the termination of the 20 year old contract under which Egypt supplied 40% of Israel’s natural gas.

Mr Mohamed Shoeib chairman of EGAS said that EGAS ended the deal because the other party didn’t fulfil its commitments. Egypt was the first of two Arab countries to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 followed by Jordan in 1994. Ties have been strained since President Mr Hosni Mubarak an advocate of the peace deal was toppled by a popular revolt last year.

Mr Yuval Steinitz finance minister of Israel voiced alarm about the economic as well as diplomatic repercussions of the decision to end the contract. The supply pipeline running through the lawless Sinai Peninsula has been damaged repeatedly by saboteurs in the past year, causing extensive supply disruptions and Israel had warned residents to expect electricity outages this summer.

Mr Steinitz said that the Egyptian cancellation had set a dangerous precedent which casts a shadow on the peace agreements and the peaceful atmosphere between Egypt and Israel.

Source - Tehran Times

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