At the same time as the rising security tensions, are Israel and the Palestinian Authority conducting talks regarding the gas field located 30 km off the coast of Gaza, "Gaza Marine"?
According to Osama Mabarez, Secretary General of the "Middle East Gas Forum", discussions are currently taking place between Israel and the PA on how to speed up the the development of the field and help the growth of the Palestinian economy.
He said these things today on the sidelines of an energy exhibition currently taking place in Egypt.
Mabarez mentioned that between Egypt and the Palestinians there is an agreement to develop the field that was discovered over 20 years ago but since then it has not reached the development stage due to political and economic reasons.
NEWSRAEL: Nothing will happen as long as Israel does not give its approval. As such, this approval becomes a big bargaining chip, and the question is - How big a bargaining chip? The next question is: If Gaza has next to its shores a gas field - will it be able to continue fighting Israel?