Egypt says gas deal with Israel is ‘purely commercial’

Natural gas agreement worth approximately $35bn comes amid frayed relations over Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

Egypt has said that Cairo’s natural gas deal with Israel is a “purely commercial” arrangement and that there are no “political dimensions” to the deal.

On Thursday, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS)  said the agreement was struck by private energy companies under market rules and without government involvement.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3The real reason Israel wants to open the Rafah crossing
• list 2 of 3Israel kills seven people in Gaza, says Rafah crossing to partially reopen
• list 3 of 3Egypt’s economy stabilises, but poverty challenges persist

“The deal is a purely commercial transaction concluded on the basis of strictly economic and investment considerations, and entails no political dimensions or understandings of any kind,” SIS chief Diaa Rashwan said in a statement.

“The agreement serves a clear strategic interest for Egypt, namely strengthening its position as the sole regional hub for gas trading in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Rashwan added.

Egypt’s announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval of the gas agreement with Egypt on Wednesday evening and called it “the largest gas deal in Israel’s history”.

“Today, I approved the largest gas deal in Israel’s history. The deal is worth 112 billion shekels [$34.7bn]. Of this total, 58 billion shekels [$18bn] will go to the state coffers,” Netanyahu said during a televised address in Israel, alongside energy minister Eli Cohen.

“The agreement is with the American company Chevron, with Israeli partners who will supply gas to Egypt,” Netanyahu added.

Israel had signed the export agreement in August with Chevron and its partners to supply up to $35bn of gas to Egypt from the Leviathan natural gas field.

But according to a report by the newspaper Israel Hayom, in September, Netanyahu had instructed that the gas agreement with Egypt should not move forward without his approval. His instructions came amid Israel’s allegations that Cairo had “violated the peace treaty” signed between the two countries through military deployments in Sinai – claims that Egypt has denied.

On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington, DC following the 1978 Camp David Accords. Its key provisions include ending the state of war, normalising relations, the full withdrawal of Israeli military forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, and keeping the area demilitarised.

According to CNN, Netanyahu’s announcement of the gas deal on Wednesday comes amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has been trying to organise a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Netanyahu.

Relations between the two leaders have been frayed, and they have not met publicly in years.

Tensions also intensified after Israel’s genocide in Gaza began.

Egypt has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and played a key role in mediating a ceasefire in the enclave.

But the truce is fragile and continues to fray amid a deepening humanitarian emergency across the Strip.