Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s energy minister and six others will face criminal charges including squandering public funds in relation to the deal to sell Israel 40% of its natural gas needs. Sameh Fahmy and the others will stand trial in Cairo on a date not yet disclosed. The prosecutor claims that the former energy officials made financial profits “through selling and exporting Egyptian gas to the state of Israel at a low price below international market rates at the time of the contract.” Concern over the future of the gas contract was one of the first issues to be raised by Israelis when Mubarak was swept out of power and replaced by a military council. Many observers see the issue as an indication that the “cold peace” between Egypt and Israel since the historic peace treaty in 1979 stands to get a whole lot colder.