Israeli energy ministry says UAE oil bomb should be stopped | Natural Issues

Opposition from environmental groups has forced the Israeli government to reconsider one of its major actions with the UAE.

The Israeli energy minister has said an agreement with organizations from the United Arab Emirates to transport oil from the Gulf to Europe through Israel should be terminated because it is a serious threat to the environment.

The opposition to Energy Minister Karine Elharrar Tuesday raised doubts as to whether the Israeli government would ratify the treaty, one of the key issues stemming from the stabilization of relations between Israel and the UAE last year.

The agreement was signed between the Israeli state-owned European-Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and MED-RED Land Bridge, a company owned by Emirati and Israel.

The idea was to unload oil tankers from the Red Sea port of Eilat and then to transport Israel through an existing pipeline to the Mediterranean Coast.

The companies involved say that this land bridge is the shortest, most efficient and least expensive way to transport oil from the Gulf to the west. But environmental groups, who have filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court to suspend the agreement, say the rise in tanks and crude oil is a serious threat to the environment.

“I call for the abolition of the EAPC agreement. It poses a lot of danger to the Gulf of Eilat, to its inhabitants, and does not benefit the Israeli electricity market,” Elharrar said in a statement.

He further added that UAE officials had told him that the agreement should be seen as a covert agreement and that the suspension was “not intended to disrupt international relations”.

The EAPC said the new business was always part of its operations and met international standards. It also said the alliance has geopolitical advantages.