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Israel: High Court declares gas deal unconstitutional

By  |  March 28, 2016

Israel’s High Court of Justice struck down on Sunday a deal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached in December to enable the development of a major offshore natural gas field.

The gas trove, called Leviathan, has the potential to transform Israel into an exporter of the fuel, but it has been plagued by delays.

The court specifically objected to a part of the agreement between the government and the project’s developers, which are led by Noble Energy, that prohibits changes to regulations affecting the project for 10 years.

Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, the court’s deputy president, said that the government did not have the authority to make such a long-term deal, which would bind its successors, especially “when the issue at hand is a matter of real political controversy.”

The court gave the government a year to work out an alternative solution, but that may lead to further delays in developing the field, which was discovered in 2010.

Full Content: The New York Times

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