1000s of Israelis protest planned gas deal with US company
Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in four major cities to voice their anger at the likely approval of a contentious natural gas deal with US energy giant, Noble Energy.
On Saturday night, some 4,000 protesters in Haifa, Tel Aviv, al-Quds (Jerusalem) and Beersheba chanted slogans against the multibillion-dollar agreement and held signs that read “Gas theft,” “Do not steal,” and “Stop the gas robbery.”
Clashes erupted between Israeli police and demonstrators, leading to the arrest of at least 10 people.
The protests followed last week’s resignation of Israeli Economy Minister Aryeh Deri, who was opposed to the deal.
Deri’s resignation paved the way for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has assumed control of the ministry, to press ahead with the agreement.
Under the deal, Tel Aviv will provide an international consortium led by Noble Energy and its Israeli partner Delek with exclusive rights to exploit offshore gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Critics of the accord have voiced concern that it would create a monopoly over natural gas resources in the Israeli-occupied territories and result in higher gas prices for the people. They have also accused Netanyahu of capitulating to the consortium’s demands.
Tel Aviv has been struggling to extract offshore gas since the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan fields in 2009 and 2010. Although extraction has started in Tamar, work in Leviathan has faced delays.
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