Israel and Egypt Sign Record $35 Billion Gas Deal

Latest Developments

Netanyahu Announces Massive Gas Deal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the signing of a gas deal with Egypt on December 17 valued at approximately $35 billion. Hailing the agreement as the “largest gas deal in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu asserted that the “deal greatly strengthens Israel’s status as a regional energy power and contributes to stability in our region.” The announcement came after the majority owners of Israel’s Leviathan gas field, NewMed Energy and Chevron, confirmed in August that they had reached an agreement with Egypt to significantly expand a preexisting 2019 arrangement, with plans to construct a new transmission pipeline from Israel to Egypt through the Israeli town of Nitzana.
Push for Summit in Egypt: Against the background of the gas deal,the United States has continued pressing for a summit between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. An Israeli source told CNNthat the decision to grant the gas export permit required to finalize the deal with Egypt was part of a broader effort to establish the foundation for a meeting between the two leaders. Netanyahu has not met with Sisi publicly since 2017, though Naftali Bennett spoke with the Egyptian president in 2021 during his term as Israel’s premier.
Egypt Joins Board of Peace for Gaza: U.S. officials said this week that the Trump administration has secured commitments from six countries, including Egypt, to join the Board of Peace envisaged in Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan to supervise a transitional government in Gaza led by an “apolitical” committee of Palestinian technocrats. In addition to Egypt, countries joining Trump on the board reportedly include Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. Washington is aiming to secure leaders from further countries to sit on the body, including Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

FDD Expert Response

“This is a major step forward in cementing Israel’s transregional centrality for energy security — not just for Israel’s own energy independence, or to support its most immediate neighbors, but ultimately to be the bridge between the Middle East and Europe.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“This is an unmitigated piece of good news for the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region and for Egyptian-Israeli relations, upon which the entire Middle East peace process is founded. It shows that despite the tension generated between the two countries by the Gaza war, and the problems of lawlessness, smuggling, and terrorism in Sinai, there is an enduring commitment to work toward stabilization and prosperity. The main losers from this are Hamas, Turkey, and Qatar, all of whom seek to benefit in different ways from Israeli isolation and Egyptian uncertainty.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow