Hamas will not allow Israel to exploit Gaza's gas as a tool for deals: spokesperson

A spokesperson for the Islamic movement Hamas, which runs the besieged coastal enclave, said on Monday it will not allow "the Israeli occupation to use Gaza's gas as a tool for passing security or political deals with some parties."

Speaking to The New Arab, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said, "The only party authorised to deal with this wealth is a national government elected by the Palestinian people."

"The gas off the coast of the Gaza Strip is natural wealth that belongs to all the poor, youth, and upcoming generations of the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip," he added. 

#Gaza's gas fields: A symbol of #Palestine's shackled economic potential - https://t.co/DP168lacjW on @The_NewArab pic.twitter.com/rmNs0SVgFq

— al whit🍉 (@soitiz) May 26, 2021

A gas field, which is estimated to contain one trillion cubic feet of gas and estimated to have a life of 15 years, was discovered in late 1999 off Gaza's shores.

Plans to develop the Gaza Marine - estimated to have the equivalent of Spain's consumption in 2016 - have been put off several times over the past decade.

Palestinian political rivalries and Israeli wars against the besieged enclave delayed the development of the field. As a result, the project has long been touted as "a golden economic opportunity" for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority signed an agreement with Egypt to develop a gas field west of the Gaza Strip in February 2022. But Hamas demanded at that time to keep Gaza present in any understanding about the gas fields on its shore, saying, "Gaza is forced to import natural gas from the occupation to the only power station in the Strip, then we should not stand by and watch as our natural resources go away."

It also demanded to know details of the deal struck Sunday between the Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF), Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to develop infrastructure for the Gaza Marine gas field.

Egypt and the PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Palestine, have said the agreement will serve Palestinians' need for gas. It will also explore the possibility of exporting part of the gas to Egypt - something which may have provoked Hamas.