Lebanon, Syria, Egypt Sign Gas Import Agreement

Seated left to right, Director General of the Syrian General Petroleum Corporation Nabih Khrestin, Director-General of Oil Facilities at Lebanese Energy Ministry Aurore Feghali, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Magdy Galal, sign deals to bring gas from Egypt through Syria to Lebanon, as the World Bank's Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha looks on via video, at the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP)
Seated left to right, Director General of the Syrian General Petroleum Corporation Nabih Khrestin, Director-General of Oil Facilities at Lebanese Energy Ministry Aurore Feghali, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Magdy Galal, sign deals to bring gas from Egypt through Syria to Lebanon, as the World Bank's Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha looks on via video, at the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP)
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Lebanon, Syria, Egypt Sign Gas Import Agreement

Seated left to right, Director General of the Syrian General Petroleum Corporation Nabih Khrestin, Director-General of Oil Facilities at Lebanese Energy Ministry Aurore Feghali, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Magdy Galal, sign deals to bring gas from Egypt through Syria to Lebanon, as the World Bank's Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha looks on via video, at the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP)
Seated left to right, Director General of the Syrian General Petroleum Corporation Nabih Khrestin, Director-General of Oil Facilities at Lebanese Energy Ministry Aurore Feghali, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Magdy Galal, sign deals to bring gas from Egypt through Syria to Lebanon, as the World Bank's Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha looks on via video, at the Ministry of Energy and Water in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (AP)

Lebanon, Syria and Egypt on Tuesday agreed to ship 650 million cubic meters of natural gas per year from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria, part of a US-backed effort to address Lebanon's crippling blackouts with electricity and gas transfers.

The deal, signed at a ceremony at the Lebanese energy ministry in Beirut, would see gas piped to Lebanon's northern Deir Ammar power plant, where it could add some 450 megawatts, or around four extra hours of power per day to the grid.

Deir Ammar is one of several plants in Lebanon that can run on both gas and diesel, but use the latter as the gas pipeline has yet to come online.

The deal also still requires the approval of the World Bank, which has pledged financing, and the United States for compliance with its Syria sanctions regime, Lebanon's caretaker energy minister Walid Fayyad told Reuters.

Fayyad announced the agreement alongside representatives from Egypt and Syria, as well as Magdy Galal, chairman of the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding.

They did not disclose the financial terms.

A statement issued later by the office of Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati after his meeting with Galal and Egyptian ambassador Yaser Alawi quoted Alawi as saying the price offered was "30 percent less than global market prices."

Lebanon's state-run power company produces just a couple hours of power per day, forcing many to pay for expensive private generator subscriptions.

To ease the power crunch, a plan was floated last year for Lebanon to receive electricity from Jordan and natural gas from Egypt, both via Syria, which would add up to 700 MW to Lebanon's grid.

The World Bank had agreed to provide financing if Lebanon enacts long-awaited power sector reforms to reduce waste and boost tariff collection.

Lebanon's cabinet passed a broad electricity reform plan in March but has yet to implement key components.

The transmission through war-ravaged Syria had also prompted concerns about exposure to US sanctions, which penalize anyone dealing with the government in Damascus.

US officials say they have given countries "pre-clearance" to engage in talks without the specter of sanctions but could only fully determine compliance once contracts were signed.

Fayyad said he hoped the new deal would pave the way for World Bank financing and US sanctions waivers, saying "I think we did everything that they asked for."

There was no immediate comment from the US embassy or the World Bank office in Lebanon.



Palestinians Say Hamas, Fatah Close to Agreement on Committee to Administer Postwar Gaza

A Palestinian man walks past the rubble as he carries a bag of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man walks past the rubble as he carries a bag of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Palestinians Say Hamas, Fatah Close to Agreement on Committee to Administer Postwar Gaza

A Palestinian man walks past the rubble as he carries a bag of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man walks past the rubble as he carries a bag of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2024. (Reuters)

Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war. It would effectively end Hamas' rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel.

The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that an agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza.

It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.

A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza, with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.

No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military.

The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood.

The Hamas official said the emerging Palestinian agreement would fulfill one of Israel’s war goals by ending Hamas’ rule in Gaza. It’s unclear if Israeli officials would see it that way.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank, recognizes Israel and cooperates with it on security matters, a policy that is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view it as a subcontractor of the occupation. Israel says the authority has not done enough to combat militancy or curb incitement.

The committee would assume its responsibilities after a ceasefire agreement with Israel, the Hamas official said. American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker such an agreement, but the negotiations have repeatedly stalled.

Hamas ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian fighters killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages remain inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many of the dead were combatants. The offensive has leveled much of the coastal territory and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents.