Unspoken Objective: Israel Wants to Confiscate Gaza’s Offshore Gas Reserves Which Belong to Palestine
Review of Haaretz Article entitled "U.S. to Push Israel on Allowing Gaza Offshore Gas Reserves to Revitalize Palestinian Economy"
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Introduction
According to Haaretz (See Full Report by Ben Samuels and Amir Tibon below):
Amos Hochstein, U.S. President Joe Biden’s energy security advisor, is currently visiting Israel to discuss preventing a second front from opening between Israel and Lebanon amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah, as well as potential economic revitalization plans for Gaza centered around undeveloped offshore natural gas fields.
Biden’s Envoy Hochstein “was most recently in Bahrain, where he discussed the opportunity to develop offshore gas fields on behalf of the Palestinians as part of plans for post-war Gaza.”
“Israel gave preliminary approval for the development of a gas field off Gaza’s coast in June, stressing it would require security coordination with both the PA and Egypt. The Gaza Marine field, nearly 20 miles off Gaza’s coast, has remained undeveloped despite holding an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This total is hypothetically much more than needed to power the Palestinian territories, and some of it could be potentially exported.” Haaretz)
There is More than Meets the Eye.
The Objective is “Not On Behalf of Palestinians” Quite the Opposite.
Israel Wants to Confiscate Gaza’s Offshore Gas Reserves Which Belong to Palestine
Netanyahu’s October 2023 declaration of war against 2.3 million people of the Gaza Strip is a continuation of its 2008-2009 invasion of Gaza under “Operation Cast Lead.” The underlying objective is the outright military occupation of Gaza by Israel’s IDF forces and the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland.
There are powerful financial interests which stand to benefit from Israel’s criminal undertaking (Genocide) directed against Gaza. The ultimate objective is not only to exclude Palestinians from their homeland, it consists in confiscating the multi-billion dollar Gaza offshore Natural Gas reserves, namely those pertaining to the BG (BG Group) in 1999, as well the Levant discoveries of 2013.
This is what is contemplated. Outright confiscation with the complicity of Egypt
Egypt-Israel “Secret Bilateral Talks”
In 2021-22, Egypt and Israel were involved in “secret bilateral talks” regarding “the extraction of natural gas off the coast of the Gaza Strip.
“Egypt succeeded in persuading Israel to start extracting natural gas off the coast of the Gaza Strip, after several months of secret bilateral talks.
This development … comes after years of Israeli objections to extract natural gas off the coast of Gaza on [alleged] security grounds, …
British Gas (BG Group) has also been dealing with the Tel Aviv government.
What is significant is that the civilian arm of the Hamas Gaza government has been bypassed in regards to exploration and development rights over the gas fields:
The field, which lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the Gaza coast, was discovered in 2000 by British Gas (currently BG Group) and is estimated to contain more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The official in the Egyptian intelligence service told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “An Egyptian economic and security delegation discussed with the Israeli side for several months the issue of allowing the extraction of natural gas off the coast of Gaza. …Al-Monitor, October 22, 2022
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Egypt and Israel, which had the rubber-stamp of the Palestinian National Authority (PA):
“The Egyptian official explained that Israel required the start of practical measures to extract gas from the Gaza fields at the beginning of 2024, to ensure its own security. (Al-Monitor, October 22, 2022
The occupation of Gaza is intent upon confiscating Palestine’s maritime gas reserves, starting in early 2024, as outlined in the Secret bilateral Agreement between Egypt and Israel.
This initiative will NOT “Revitalize the Palestinian Economy” as outlined in the article below,
Unless Palestinians take full control over offshore gas resources that belong to the State of Palestine, and which Israel wants to confiscate with the support of the Biden Administration.
Egypt is in on the game
Cairo is complicit with total disregard for the rights of Palestinians.
It’s a criminal undertaking.
Egypt will establish refugee camps in the Sinai desert in coordination with Israel and the U.S., in exchange for a token participation in the exploitation of Gaza’s maritime, which are worth billions and billions of dollars.
For more analysis, see the following articles,
.
By , November 26,
War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields
By , October 21, 2023
Michel Chossudovsky, November 26, 2023
***
U.S. to Push Israel on Allowing Gaza Offshore Gas Reserves
to Revitalize Palestinian Economy
by Ben Samuels and Amir Tibon
Haaretz, November 20, 2023
Amos Hochstein, U.S. President Joe Biden’s energy security advisor, is currently visiting Israel to discuss preventing a second front from opening between Israel and Lebanon amid ongoing clashes with Hezbollah, as well as potential economic revitalization plans for Gaza centered around undeveloped offshore natural gas fields.
“While in Israel, Hochstein will emphasize that restoring calm along Israel’s northern border is of utmost importance to the United States and it should be a top priority for both Israel and Lebanon,” a U.S. official told Reuters.
He has been “backbriefing” Israeli officials on his meetings in Lebanon, according to U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“We don’t want to see this war escalate or widen, we certainly don’t believe it’s in anybody’s interest – certainly not the Israeli people,” Kirby said.
Hochstein was most recently in Bahrain, where he discussed the opportunity to develop offshore gas fields on behalf of the Palestinians as part of plans for post-war Gaza.
Israel gave preliminary approval for the development of a gas field off Gaza’s coast in June, stressing it would require security coordination with both the PA and Egypt. The Gaza Marine field, nearly 20 miles off Gaza’s coast, has remained undeveloped despite holding an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This total is hypothetically much more than needed to power the Palestinian territories, and some of it could be potentially exported.
“There is an opportunity here to develop the gas fields in offshore Gaza, on behalf of the Palestinians,” Hochstein told The National, adding “as soon as we get to the day after and this horrible war ends, there are companies willing to develop those fields”.
“We shouldn’t exaggerate its potential, but it can absolutely be a revenue stream for a Palestinian government, and to ensure there is an independent energy system for Palestine,” he continued, adding that there is “clear mechanism that we have developed, that would pose no threat and would maximize the effectiveness for the Palestinian people”.
Hochstein noted that he is “100 percent” sure Israel would allow this, adding that
“I am very confident, there is no reason for them not to, it is not theirs [the Israelis], the gas belongs to the Palestinian people.”
Click here to read the full article on Haaretz.
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