Cairo: Gas deal with Israel ‘strictly business’

A landmark natural gas deal with Israel is a “strictly commercial” arrangement with no political dimensions, Egypt said on Thursday.

The Egyptian government reaction, which came the day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the $35 billion, 15-year deal—the biggest gas sale in Israel’s history—is seen as Cairo’s attempt to shield itself from Arab criticism over the mammoth agreement with the Jewish state.

“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.

“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,” Rashwan added in a statement.

Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979, but popular opinion in the Land of the Nile remains hostile, and relations have become strained in the wake of the war in Gaza, triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.