Hamas MP: Potential gas discovered off Gaza shore
Tests carried out by coastguards after fishermen notice large bubbles emanating from the water, Salem Salama says
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A Hamas MP said Tuesday that a natural gas field may have been discovered off the Gaza shore, prompting hopes for alternative fuel supplies for the blockaded Palestinian territory.
Salem Salama, who heads an economic committee, told AFP “preliminary tests carried out by experts from the Islamic University suggest that there is a natural gas field near the coast” of the Gaza Strip.
He said the tests were carried by Hamas coastguards in the last few weeks after fishermen noticed large bubbles emanating from the water some 300 meters offshore.
But the Hamas deputy prime minister Ziad al-Zaza was more cautious, telling AFP “we need to conduct further studies to confirm that there is any gas.”
“This requires probing by specialist companies because we don’t have the adequate laboratories and experts here,” given the “illegal” Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, which is governed by the Hamas movement, he said.
Gaza has to import all its fuel and is going through the worst energy crisis in its history, with residents facing daily power cuts of up to 12 hours.
The territory has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, after Hamas staged a violent putsch to capture the territory from rival Palestinian group Fatah.
A closure by the Egyptian army last summer of tunnels running under the Gaza-Egypt border cut crucial supply lines for fuel, building materials and other goods to Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.