Palestinian Authority Partners With Egypt for Gaza Offshore Gas Field Development

The Palestinian leadership, in collaboration with Egypt, plans to develop a gas field off the coast of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced on Monday. During a cabinet meeting in Ramallah, West Bank, Shtayyeh described the gas field as a Palestinian national asset. The announcement comes on the heels of Israel’s preliminary approval for the Gaza marine natural gas field development, following negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt.

Located 36 kilometers offshore of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea, the gas field lies within the territory of the Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist movement, Hamas, and under Israeli and Egyptian blockade.

Shtayyeh indicated that the Palestinian Investment Fund, in partnership with an Egyptian developer, had already begun work on the project. He thanked Egypt for its efforts and emphasized that the field’s development had significant political implications for the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, asserted the Palestinian people’s right to benefit from their natural resources, saying, “We do not need anyone’s permission to dispose of this gas.”