PM gripes to Steinitz: Why didn’t you thank me for gas deal?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday chided a cabinet colleague who failed to give him public praise for pushing through a long-sought offshore gas deal.

After ministers approved revisions to the agreement with an Israeli-US consortium that are designed to overcome a court challenge, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz named several officials he credited with redrafting the document.

But he did not include Netanyahu on the list.

At the start of the meeting, both Netanyahu and Steinitz personally thanked some of those who were deeply involved in hammering out the deal.

Turning to Steinitz, Netanyahu said: “As energy minister you worked vigorously, tirelessly, creatively, and I really appreciate that and think that the citizens of Israel should appreciate your contribution.”

Steinitz then thanked the director-general of the Energy Ministry as well as his chief of staff.

But according to an audio recording made after the meeting officially ended, the two men had a testy exchange about who else was deserving of praise.

“Perhaps there was someone else who also contributed to the gas outline [deal],” Netanyahu is heard saying.

“There were many,” Steinitz agreed.

“Perhaps one more,” the prime minister continued.

“I’m talking only about those who did the work in the last few days,” Steinitz insisted.

At that point the cabinet secretary Aryeh Zohar interjected: “Bogie should have been thanked,” referring to former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon who resigned Friday after Netanyahu offered the Defense Ministry to Avigdor Liberman as part of a deal bring his Yisrael Beytenu party into the coalition.

“Perhaps the prime minister too,” Netanyahu said eventually.

The amended agreement allows future governments to alter the gas deal where necessary, which the government hopes will pave the way to finalizing the deal.

Steinitz announced the changes to the so-called “stability clause” last Wednesday.

The High Court ruled in March that the deal to extract natural gas from the fields would be canceled within a year without a change in the clause barring future governments from altering the agreement.

The ruling put a major damper on efforts by the state to approve the agreement and override opposition by the state regulator, putting the brakes on a deal touted by the government as having the potential to bring hundreds of millions into state coffers and transform the country into a regional energy powerhouse.

The court, however, suspended its ruling to allow the Knesset to amend the agreement.

Activists have been furious with the gas deal’s lack of transparency, including the “stability clause,” which meant that the government could not impose regulatory changes, such as breaking up suspected monopolies, on the consortium for a full 10 years.

The deal came after a year of the prime minister performing political cartwheels to override Knesset and public opposition to an agreement that critics claim will create a monopoly in the gas market and lead to higher prices for Israeli consumers.