Israel Stunned By Egypt Decision To Cancel Gas Contract

Egypt has canceled an agreement to supply gas to Israel. This move came after 14 as acts of sabotage against the gas pipeline from Egypt to the Jewish state since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Ampal -American Israel Corporation announced Sunday it had received the information from the Egyptian side.

The Egyptian national natural gas company Egas and the Egyptian General Petroleum Authority announced the termination of the contract signed with the Egyptian company East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), said Ampal, a partner of EMG, which exports gas from Egypt to Israel.

Shoeib Mohamed, director of Egas, confirmed the decision, explaining that this 20 year old agreement had expired Thursday. “Egas has terminated the agreement because the other party has not fulfilled its obligations,” he told Egyptian television station Hayat. “This is a commercial disagreement, without political consideration,” he said.

The Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz expressed his “great concern” after the announcement, saying that it created “a dangerous precedent that casts a pall over peace agreements and peaceful relations between Egypt and Israel.”

Israel imports from Egypt between 40 and 45% of its natural gas consumption, under a contract signed after the 1979 peace agreements.