Egypt's multibillion-dollar natural gas deal with Israel is “purely commercial” and has no bearing on its support for Palestinian rights, a government spokesman has said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week approved an export agreement, signed in August, to supply Egypt with up to $35 billion of gas from its Leviathan natural gasfield.
The deal will help Egypt manage an energy crisis as supply from its maturing gasfields declines and it becomes more reliant on imports from the US and Israel.
“The deal is a purely commercial transaction concluded exclusively on the basis of economic and investment considerations, and does not involve any political dimensions or understandings whatsoever,” said Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, a government media office.
“The agreement serves a clear strategic interest for Egypt by strengthening its position as the sole regional hub for gas trading in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Egypt and Israel have had formal ties for decades, but there has been criticism of the co-operation with Israel in wake of the latest Gaza war.
Mr Rashwan pointed out that what transpired was a “commercial contract subject to market rules and international investment mechanisms, far from any political interpretation”.
He also said that the “parties to the agreement are well-known international commercial companies that have been operating in the energy sector for years, including the American company Chevron”.
The announcement came as negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which Cairo helped broker, have faltered amid reports of truce violations.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami on Friday to discuss the second phase, a senior US State Department official said on Thursday.
Turkey said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty would also be there, Axios reported.
Mr Rashwan said that “Egypt's position on the Palestinian cause is firm and unwavering”.
He added: “It is based on supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, rejecting forced displacement, and adhering to the two-state solution.”
Egypt's gas production began to decline in 2022, forcing it to abandon its ambitions to become a regional supplier. It has increasingly turned to Israel to make up the shortfall.
The new deal includes an aggregate export of about 130 billion cubic metres of natural gas from the Leviathan gasfield to the Egyptian market.
Under the terms of the deal, signed by NewMed, its partners and Blue Ocean Energy – an existing taker of natural gas from Leviathan for Egypt – the supply of gas to Cairo is expected to continue until 2040, or until all of the contract quantities are fulfilled.
