Israel will buy gas from Egypt, rather than Palestinians

The Israeli government yesterday decided to buy gas from Egypt rather than the British "British gas" company working for the Palestinian authority off Gaza coast.

The Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon took this decision yesterday during a meeting with the infrastructure minister and officials from the Israeli company for electricity.

This decision, however, comes a time when relations between Egypt and Israel are cool since Egypt had summoned its ambassador on November 21, 2000 from Tel Aviv in protest of the Israeli acts of oppression in the Palestinian territories.

Israel wants to increase its reserves of natural gas, and oil, on which it depends to produce three quarters of its needs of energy while other needs are produced by coal and solar energy.

The Egyptian- Israeli negotiations concerning gas was obstructed under the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, between 1996- 1999, who was accused by Cairo of obstructing the peace process.

The Israeli daily Haartez said yesterday that the chairman of the Israeli electricity company and its director general, who attended the meeting with Sharon yesterday said the Israeli company will sign an agreement to buy gas from Egypt by the end of the current month. According to the contract Israel will get 18 million cubic meters of the Egyptian gas, annually.