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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.

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FM: Iraq Wants Iran-backed Factions to Lay Down Weapons

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
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FM: Iraq Wants Iran-backed Factions to Lay Down Weapons

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison

Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought US forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran's armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria's government overthrown.

The incoming US Trump administration promises to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has long backed a number of political parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq.

Some Baghdad officials are concerned the status quo there may be upended next, but Hussein played this down in an interview with Reuters during an official visit to London.

"We don't think that Iraq is the next," Hussein said.

The government was in talks to rein in the groups while continuing to walk the tightrope between its ties to both Washington and Tehran, he said.
"Two or three years ago it was impossible to discuss this topic in our society," he said.

But now, having armed groups functioning outside the state was not acceptable.

"Many political leaders, many political parties started to raise a discussion, and I hope that we can convince the leaders of these groups to lay down their arms, and then to be part of the armed forces under the responsibility of the government," Hussein said.

Iraq's balancing act has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups' attacks on Israel and on US troops in the country they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.

A promised Gaza ceasefire has the government breathing a sigh of relief, though uncertainty prevails over how the country may fare after Donald Trump becomes US president.

During the last Trump presidency, relations grew tense as he ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing US forces.

"We hope that we can continue this good relationship with Washington," Hussein said. "It is too early now to talk about which policy President Trump is going to follow for Iraq or Iran."

Iraq will only be reassured about Syria when it sees an inclusive political process, Hussein said, adding Baghdad would supply the country with grain and oil once it could be assured it would go to all Syrians.
Baghdad was in talks with Syria's foreign minister over a visit to Iraq, he said.

"We are worried about the ISIS, so we are in contact with the Syrian side to talk about these things, but at the end to have a stable Syria means to have the representative of all components in the political process."

Baghdad and Washington last year agreed to end the US-led coalition's work by September 2026 and transition to bilateral military ties, but Hussein said that the developments in Syria would have to be watched.

"In the first place, we are thinking about security of Iraq and stability in Iraq. If there will be a threat to our country, of course it will be a different story," he said.