Israel鈥檚 energy minister wants to scrap UAE oil line over environmental concerns
(Bloomberg) - Israel should cancel the oil pipeline deal with a group of United Arab Emirates investors out of environmental concerns, the country鈥檚 minister of energy said, casting doubt over a politically-sensitive agreement that tests new diplomatic relations.
鈥淲e need to cancel this deal, there鈥檚 no advantage for the state,鈥 Karine Elharrar said in a radio interview on Tuesday, referring to the agreement signed in October last year between Israel鈥檚 state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Co. and the Israeli-UAE Med-Red Land Bridge consortium. 鈥淭he environmental risks are too severe. We can move on.鈥
Mounting political pressure from members of Israel鈥檚 government is threatening to derail the deal, one of the important outcomes of the Abraham Accords signed by Israel and the UAE last year. The agreement has been under scrutiny since Israel鈥檚 new government took shape in the summer.
There is a 鈥渉igh chance鈥 that the deal will be canceled, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told environmental activists on Monday, according to the Hebrew daily Globes. The Ministry of Foreign affairs didn鈥檛 immediately reply to a request for comment.