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Netanyahu Considers Gas Pipeline to Europe Via Türkiye

Gas platform at Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea
Gas platform at Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea
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Netanyahu Considers Gas Pipeline to Europe Via Türkiye

Gas platform at Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea
Gas platform at Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed an inter-ministerial team to examine alternatives to Israel's current gas exports.

One of the options being considered is the construction of an underwater pipeline from Türkiye to Israel's largest offshore natural gas field, Leviathan.

Under the plan, gas will be directed to Türkiye and subsequently to southern European nations aiming to decrease their reliance on the Russian pipeline.

The proposed pipeline aims to link the key Turkish-European pipeline with the abundant gas reserves in Israel and neighboring areas such as Egypt and the UAE.

The initiative seeks to establish a viable alternative gas supply for Europe, as the region looks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

Sources in Tel Aviv said that the order to establish the team was given in a meeting attended by the Prime Minister together with Energy Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi.

It comes amid a push by the companies owning the reservoir to increase its gas exports.

Last week, Katz approved the increase of gas exports from the Tamar reservoir to Egypt.

For years, Türkiye has pressured Israel to build the pipeline, but the latter feared the move could harm its relations with Türkiye's neighbors Cyprus and Greece and with the project planned to run through their waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

Netanyahu is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming weeks amid the latest warming of ties between the two nations. The meeting, originally planned for July 28 was postponed after Netanyahu was forced to undergo an operation to implant a pacemaker last month.

Observers in Tel Aviv saw a link between the visit and Netanyahu's instruction to form a team.

Political sources said that Netanyahu knows that Erdogan wants this pipeline to pass through Türkiye to Europe.

They added that Netanyahu should expect Türkiye to demand tangible steps in this regard.

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Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will stay on in his post until the party chooses a replacement.

Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March 24.

That means an election is unlikely to be held before May and Trudeau will still be prime minister when US President-elect Donald Trump - who has threatened tariffs that would cripple Canada's economy - takes office on Jan. 20.

"This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election," Trudeau said.

Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada's longest-serving prime ministers.

But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.

Polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.

Parliament was due to resume on Jan. 27 and opposition parties had vowed to bring down the government as soon as they could, most likely at the end of March. But if parliament does not return until March 24, the earliest they could present a non-confidence motion would be some time in May.

Trudeau said he had asked Canada's Governor General, the representative of King Charles in the country, to prorogue parliament and she had granted that request.

Trudeau had until recently been able to fend off Liberal legislators worried about the poor showing in polls and the loss of safe seats in two special elections last year.

But calls for him to step aside have soared since last month, when he tried to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his closest cabinet allies, after she pushed back against his proposals for more spending.

Freeland quit instead and penned a letter accusing Trudeau of "political gimmicks" rather than focusing on what was best for the country.

"Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we're seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics," Trudeau said.

The Conservatives are led by Pierre Poilievre, a career politician who rose to prominence in early 2022 when he supported truck drivers who took over the center of Ottawa as part of a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.