EU's gas deal with Israel to trample Palestinian rights, says NGO

London: European Union’s gas deal with Israel will trample over Palestinian rights and breach international laws, a campaign group has warned. The 2022 deal, which brings more gas to Europe, will make the EU complicit in breaches of international law, and the import of gas from a pipeline will have to travel by Palestinian waters, The Guardian reported, citing the campaign group report.

The Guardian says that the group Global Witness shared the report exclusively with the news house.

Global Witness has urged the EU to cancel the gas import, which is linked to the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline and terminate the deal. What is to be noted is Egypt, which is also batting for Palestine and its people, has signed the 2022 deal.

According to The Guardian, the EU’s energy ties with Israel became significant after the European Commission concluded that there were indications that Israel was breaching human rights obligations over the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of its war in Gaza as well as violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

It was in June 2022 that the European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel and Egypt in June 2022, with the aim of “enabling a stable delivery of natural gas to the EU”. This happened just a few months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the EU was frantically searching for alternative energy suppliers.

According to Global Witness, the EMG pipeline runs parallel to the Gaza coastline, running through Palestinian waters and is 90 km long. It transports gas from Ashkelon in Israel to Arish in Egypt, where it is processed into liquefied natural gas. The finished product is then exported to various consumers, including Europe.

The pipeline is constructed and operated without the consent of Palestinian authorities, and Palestine hasn’t been afforded the opportunity to stipulate any financial, environmental or regulatory conditions, Global Witness says.