Tel aviv: The development of a gas field off the Gaza Strip has received preliminary approval from Israel.
The agreement would help the Palestinian economy if it were to be completed.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the change to the Gaza Marine project, stating that it would depend on "maintaining the State of Israel's security and diplomatic needs."
Also Read: Donors to Sudan will gather in Geneva as the 72-hour ceasefire enters its second day
The project, which is 36 kilometres from the Gaza coast in the waters of the Mediterranean, is included in the ongoing negotiations between Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, the office added in a press release in Arabic and Hebrew.
According to a May 4 report by Israel's Channel 13, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had approved the government's secret negotiations with the Palestinian Authority to extract gas from a field off the coast of the Gaza Strip.
After the administration was established at the end of last year, according to the channel, the Israeli government allegedly held internal discussions about the gas field.
According to the report, the talks were restarted as a part of the recent political and security negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which were mediated by the US.
The talks that took place in Aqaba and Sharm El-Sheikh were primarily focused on the problem of developing the Gaza Marine field and getting it ready for gas extraction.
Under the sponsorship of the US, the negotiations brought together political and security representatives from the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Egypt and Jordan took part in the discussions.
Also Read: Jenin gunbattle: Israeli raid in the West Bank results in 3 Palestinian deaths and 29 other injuries
The meetings were presided over by Ghassan Alyan, coordinator of government operations in the Palestinian territories, and Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the Israeli National Security Council, who led the Israeli delegation.
As part of the agreement, an Egyptian company would facilitate the production of natural gas in offshore fields.
More natural gas than is required to power the Palestinian territories is believed to be stored in Gaza Marine, which has a capacity of over 1 trillion cubic feet.
27.5 percent of the field's earnings will go to the Palestinian Authority, which is based in Ramallah and is represented by the Palestine Investment Fund, or PIF, a sovereign wealth fund.
Another 27.5 percent will go to the PIF's partner, the Palestinian-owned Consolidated Contractors Company, or CCC.
The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co., also known as EGAS, which will manage the project, will receive the remaining 45 percent.
According to the Israeli TV station, Tel Aviv anticipates that the latest move will benefit Palestinians economically, which could eventually help to ease security tensions.
Hamed Jad, an economist, hoped that a deal could be completed before the year was out.
Since the discovery of gas fields off the coast of Gaza, the Palestinian attempts have been ongoing, but there are always new challenges. The subject has now come up once more," Jad told Arab News.
The second field, known as Gaza Marine 2, has an additional 3 billion cubic metres and is situated on the sea border between Gaza and Israel.
The fields have long been regarded as a crucial first step towards Palestinian energy independence, but Israeli objections and roadblocks have prevented Palestinians from using them.
Gaza's power plant could increase its operational capacity by switching from oil to gas with the aid of the offshore fields.
A 25-year agreement for gas exploration and field development was signed by the British Gas Group, the CCC, and the PIF in November 1999.
Following its exit from the project in 2016, BG Group turned it over to Shell, which terminated the contract in 2018 as a result of various disagreements.
The PA and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 to develop the infrastructure and gas field in Gaza.
Also Read: Rescue of migrants from a sailboat off an island in eastern Greece
Since 2016, the Gaza Strip has experienced a severe electricity shortage as a result of Israel bombing the region's sole power station at the time.
In addition, there hasn't been enough money to pay for the petrol required to run the station during the 16-year Israeli-led blockade.