Israel on Monday urged Egypt to uphold their 1979 peace treaty after Cairo canceled a long-term deal to supply natural gas to the Jewish state. "The supply of gas is not part of the peace agreement, but it is certainly an important commercial agreement, which expresses the stable relations between the two states," said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He expressed hope that the issue would be solved "like any commercial disagreement, without taking on political dimensions" but said the unilateral cancelation of the gas deal was "not a good sign." Lieberman told Israeli radio: "Israel is interested in keeping the peace agreement and we think this is also in Egypt‘s highest interest.”
Egypt unilaterally canceled its agreement to supply Israel with natural gas on Sunday, in a new indication of the steadily deteriorating relations between the countries. However, both the government in Cairo and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stressed the “commercial” nature of the decision. Nonetheless, Egyptian presidential candidates Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabahi expressed their satisfaction regarding the turn of events. “The Egyptian people do not want to export gas to Israel and the president must act according to their wishes,” said Fotouh. “I hope this decision is permanent in order for Egypt to better guard its national resources,” Sabahi posted his ‘Twitter’ account.
Hani Dahi, the chairman of the state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, said the reason for canceling the 2005 deal was "purely commercial." Cairo also cited contractual violations on the part of East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), a private company that operates the gas pipeline which runs from the Egyptian city of Al-Arish to the southern Israeli city of Asheklon.
Officials at the Egyptian Oil Ministry said the 2005 deal had been canceled due to repeated attacks on the pipeline. Militants attacked the pipeline 14 times since former Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak was ousted in February 2011 (see picture above). The agreement to supply Israel with gas is highly unpopular with many Egyptians.
