Last month, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt reached an agreement according to which Egypt will pump natural gas through Syria to Lebanon, thus alleviating the last country’s severe energy shortages. Despite Beirut’s emphatic denials, it is inevitable that some of the gas it will receive from Egypt will have originated in Israel. Jonathan Spyer comments:
Lebanese law forbids all contact with Israel and Israelis. Hizballah, which is represented in the caretaker cabinet that currently officially rules Lebanon, is committed to the destruction of Israel. Were it to become apparent that the country’s energy needs were to a considerable extent being met by the import of Israeli gas, these positions might be subject to ridicule.
[Separately], the deal, if implemented, will represent a notable achievement for the Assad regime in its efforts to end its isolation. It will also introduce a situation whereby Hizballah’s leadership will be able to light and heat (or cool) their bunkers in south Beirut (where presumably they’re planning their next war against Israel) courtesy of Israeli extraction of gas from the Eastern Mediterranean.
To add a further layer of absurdity, this is set to take place even as the Hizballah leadership threatens Israel with war if it extracts gas from the neighboring Karish field, [which Hizballah claims lies in Lebanese waters].
Read more on Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-712758