PA, Egypt Deal on Gaza Gas Sparks Dispute in Palestine

PA, Egypt Deal on Gaza Gas Sparks Dispute in Palestine
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PA, Egypt Deal on Gaza Gas Sparks Dispute in Palestine

PA, Egypt Deal on Gaza Gas Sparks Dispute in Palestine

The Gaza Marine gas agreement between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Egypt was strongly criticized by Hamas movement for striking the deal without any Gazan representation.

The dispute erupted after the Palestinian Investment Fund signed a deal to develop the Gaza Marine gas field and necessary infrastructure, with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

However, Hamas's politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk demanded the authority discloses details of the agreement, saying Gaza representatives should attend any negotiations about gas fields near the enclave’s shores.

Marzouk tweeted that: “if Gaza is forced to import natural gas from the occupation for the only power plant in the Strip, then we should not stand idly by as our natural resources are exported,” adding: “we need to know the details of the agreement that was signed with the Investment Authority.”

The tweet was met with anger and ridicule in Ramallah, prompting the Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh, to say that agreements are made between countries, and Palestine is a member of the EastMed Gas Forum.

“Agreements are signed with states Mr. Abu Marzouk, not with factions and organizations.”

Munir al-Jaghoub, the head of Fatah’s Information Department in the Office of Mobilization and Organization, also tweeted in response to Abu Marzook, saying that Gazan youth are the real wealth that was lost, underestimated, abandoned, and pushed to death and suicide.

“It is not permissible today to even talk about a gas canister on its way to Palestine.”

Jaghoub went on to say that it is within the powers of President Mahmoud Abbas to strike such deals, not the powers of political parties, stressing that Gaza is part of the Palestinian state and not an independent region, and Hamas is one of the 17 national factions.

The Fatah official considered Abu Marzouk’s statement as “blackmail and electoral propaganda,” or an attempt to escape the elections.

Abu Marzouk then responded by saying that the comments of some officials of the Authority are unjustified because asking for details of the agreements means transparency.

Hamas accused Fatah leaders and the PA of deluding the public, asserting that the Authority failed to fulfill any of the national aspirations of the Palestinian people, and reinforced political and geographical division.

It accused the PA of acting in an authoritarian manner.

“Our people have the right to know how the authority behaves on major issues because precedent confirms that it acts without the slightest degree of transparency, and determines its actions and relations based on narrow partisan and factional interests,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Wednesday.

For years the project was a distant prospect because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the peace talks that broke down in 2014 and never resumed, amid mutual suspicion and outbreaks of violence.

But officials said that the Israeli, Palestinian, Qatari, and European interests have converged in recent weeks with the aim of getting gas flowing to Gaza in 2023.

According to Reuters, the plan would see natural gas from the Leviathan field operated by Chevron in the EastMed flow through an existing pipeline into Israel, and from there into Gaza through a proposed new extension.

Under the arrangement, the Israeli side of the pipeline would be funded by Qatar and the section in Gaza by the EU, the officials told Reuters.

If successful, the pipeline project would for the first time in years provide a steady energy source to Gaza, ending rolling blackouts that have helped cripple the economy of the blockaded enclave.

Palestinians hope Egypt will be able to pressure Israel to allow the extraction of gas, after 20 years of prevention.



Medical Charity Condemns Israel's Use of Hunger as 'Weapon of War' in Gaza

A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Medical Charity Condemns Israel's Use of Hunger as 'Weapon of War' in Gaza

A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
A Palestinian boy at a garbage dump in central Gaza City, 12 May 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

A months-long Israeli blockade is worsening acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, medical charity Medecins du Monde warned on Tuesday, accusing Israel of using hunger as "a weapon of war".

Israel halted all aid from entering the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on March 2, days before resuming its offensive triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The United Nations and aid agencies have repeatedly warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe for the roughly 2.4 million people in Gaza, amid dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water.

Aid reaches Gaza mainly through Israeli-controlled entry points, though the flow has fluctuated -- even before the March shutdown.

After more than a year and a half of war, acute malnutrition in Gaza has "reached levels comparable to those seen in countries facing prolonged humanitarian crises spanning several decades," AFP quoted Medecins du Monde as saying.

MDM said data from six health centers it runs in the Palestinian territory highlighted "the human responsibility for hunger in Gaza".

"Acute malnutrition rates among pregnant and breastfeeding women and children depend on the Israeli authorities' decisions to allow or block humanitarian aid," it said.

The medical charity said the peaks in acute malnutrition it observed in 2024 "coincided with the sharpest decline in the monthly number of trucks delivering aid to Gaza".

MDM said it saw a peak in child acute malnutrition of 17 percent in November, during a significant reduction of humanitarian aid.

Aid access is limited to Israeli-controlled crossings, with the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt closed since the Israeli army took control of the city in spring 2024.

Israeli authorities have closed the crossing points since March 2, saying they want to force Hamas to release hostages.

The security cabinet in early May approved the "possibility of humanitarian distribution, if necessary" in Gaza, but insisted there was "currently enough food".

The UN's World Food Program in late April said it had depleted all its food stocks in the territory.

"We are not witnessing a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of humanity and moral bankruptcy with the use of hunger as a weapon of war," said Jean-Francois Corty, president of MDM.

"The failure of other countries with the power to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift this deadly siege is unacceptable and could be seen as complicity under international law," he added.

In April, one in five pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly one in four children MDM observed were suffering or were at high risk of acute malnutrition, the charity said.

The MDM report also detailed the domino effect of dwindling food reserves, as well as the destruction of agricultural facilities and sanitation systems, on the malnutrition crisis.

The organization said it could not officially declare famine underway due to a lack of comprehensive data covering the entire Palestinian territory.

The UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned Monday that Gaza was at "critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian "catastrophe".