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Israel: Lawmakers snub Netanyahu plan to tap major gas field

By  |  December 14, 2015

An Israeli parliamentary committee refused to give its blessing Monday to a natural gas deal aimed at tapping a huge field in the Mediterranean despite a strong push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 7-6 vote against the deal by the Knesset’s economics committee was however non-binding and Netanyahu is expected to seek to move ahead anyway, with a court battle likely to result.

Committee spokesman Lior Rotem told AFP the vote was against Netanyahu’s plan to bypass usual antitrust oversight, on the grounds of diplomatic and security needs.

“It’s a recommendation,” he said. “The government is not obliged to accept this recommendation.”

Opponents of the proposed deal to pump and pipe natural gas reserves from the Mediterranean say it will create a monopoly for a consortium that includes US company Noble Energy.

Full content: Quartz

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