The gas deal with Israel is a “purely economic relationship between private companies from both countries,” Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, told Saudi channel Asharq News in an effort to avoid possible political backlash over the agreement’s approval.
“This serves a strategic interest to enhance Egypt’s position as the only regional center for gas-trading in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Saudi outlet reported, with officials stressing that “Egypt’s position on the Palestinian issue is firm and will not change.”
Rashwan said that “the agreement in question is a purely commercial deal concluded according to economic and investment considerations only, and does not involve any political dimensions or understandings of any kind.”
“What happened was a commercial contract subject to market rules and international investment mechanisms, far removed from any political exploitation or interpretation,” he added.
The agreement represents Israel’s largest gas deal in its history and is worth NIS 112 billion, of which NIS 58b. will go directly to state coffers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday.
“We are working to extract gas from our territorial waters,” he said. “This deal greatly strengthens Israel’s position as a regional energy powerhouse, and it contributes to stability in our region.”
Lapid calls agreement 'an opportunity to turn Egypt into a key contributor in Gaza'
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Thursday that the agreement could be a key point in “turning Egypt into the one leading the reconstruction and demilitarization of Gaza,” adding that he already said that “Egypt was preferable to Turkey and Qatar.”
“In February 2025, I presented to Washington’s government the ‘Egypt Plan’ – strengthening economic ties with Cairo, along with efforts to encourage Egypt to take on the management of the Gaza Strip,” Lapid posted on X/Twitter.
He said that this plan had been presented to the American administration, the European Union, Gulf leaders, and the Egyptians themselves.
“Only one party refused to discuss it outright – the Netanyahu government,” Lapid said. “We must not miss another historic opportunity here, and we must not waste any more time. The government needs to act with the Americans to expand the agreement and ensure that Egypt is the leading party in managing Gaza and disarming Hamas of its weapons.”
Danielle Greyman-Kennard and Tzvi Jasper contributed to this report.