In 1999 the news came out that there were significant natural gas supplies off the coast of Gaza. Negotiation soon took place between the Palestinian Authority, Israel, British Gas, and a Athens based company. The deal they produced would have given the PA 10% of the profits, though it was to be put in a special trust fund that only the Fatah political party could touch. However that deal was never signed, and in 2006 Hamas was the big winner in legislative elections, and they immediately declared the deal unfair and demanded it be renegotiated. The other parties would not renegotiate.
Meanwhile at the same time, Israel’s gas reserves off their coast are set to run out in only a few years. And a recent import deal they made with an Egyptian gas company, was declared illegal by an Egyptian court and that important source had been shut down.
Now we are over 20 days into an Israeli military operation which has been explained as an effort to hunt down Hamas who are a danger to the security of Israel. Hardly anywhere in the mainstream media is there mention of the very big issue of gas resources and the supply situation Israel finds itself in.Continue reading “bm292 The Battle for Gaza Gas Reserves”
The Wire gives alot of great examples of the type of behavior and power struggles that take place in all levels of life.? In this video, I look at 2 particular Wire characters and who they represent, and juxtapose that with what is happening in the middle east. Yes, Im serious.
Sitting there eating my tofu-stew, watching BBC News, supposedly about to go to some Amsterdam club to see a band play… and there it is on the screen: Hamas Takes Gaza.
On the euronews podcast I watch the video of Fatah supporters in the street, armed to the teeth, supposedly prepared to fight to keep the city.
Since by nature I always look behind what I’m given, I sit watching these images thinking about all those who benefit from the chaos. The desperation that comes with poverty and decades of fighting, loss of your home, loss of family members… loss of all logic. Meanwhile wealthy nations, who have long played a big role in what does and does not happen in that part of the world, standby and roll camera. That’s what it has become for them, a little media blip for your daily dose of violence and confusion. For me to watch as I eat my dinner and prepare for an evening out on the town.Then Ill blog about it.
In 1999 the news came out that there were significant natural gas supplies off the coast of Gaza. Negotiation soon took place between the Palestinian Authority, Israel, British Gas, and a Athens based company. The deal they produced would have given the PA 10% of the profits, though it was to be put in a special trust fund that only the Fatah political party could touch. However that deal was never signed, and in 2006 Hamas was the big winner in legislative elections, and they immediately declared the deal unfair and demanded it be renegotiated. The other parties would not renegotiate.