So now when the power is cut in Gaza, they can cry to their Arab brothers.

and we'll finally be done with them.

GAZA is rapidly moving away from nuisance pseudo-refugee status to egyptian colonial garrison. good for them!

Hamas hopes for a dialogue between Hamas and Egypt "over the future mechanisms for operating the border crossing to allow goods and passengers to travel between Gaza and Egypt freely without restrictions." Hamas should ask more : It would be fair for Egypt to be the first Arab country to take its part in the historical responsibility of the Arab refugees problem and help to solve it by accepting the Gazan Arabs and integrating them. That would solve the Palestinian refugees problem as explained at : http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2008/01/win-win-solution-to-arab-israeli_7104.html

Connect to the Egyptian & Jordanian electricty grids and your going to save money for Israel. allready the electricty they use is susbsidised by the Israeli government and there is a need to build new power stations in Israel to keep up with the growing demand for electricty take the enemy of Israels electric grid and you reduce the urgency to build more power stations. Time to cut all electricty like Barak promisesd to do months ago and so far he hasnt turned the lights out once.

YOU FAIL TO MENTION THAT EGYPT HASN'T ENOUGH ELECTRICITY TO SUPPLY THEIR OWN PEOPLE, THE POWER IN CAIRO IS CUT FOR 5 HOURS A DAY IN THEIR CAPITAL, THEIR GRIDS ARE 40 YEARS OLD AND FAIL DAILY.THE ELECTRIC THAT COMES FROM THE ASWAN DAMN OPERATES AT FULL DEMAND AND IS IN DANGER OF COMPLETELY BREAKING DOWN.

Next step let them rely on Egypt may be Jordan could be Hizbolah for weapons, Israel is delivering its children since Oslo. Proposal looks rewarding but it is not!

maybe they can knock their heads around the UNHCR.

Over the next 15 years, Israel will recieve a total of 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Egypt, and the deal could be extended for a further five years. The IEC and Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG), an Israeli-Egyptian consortium, approved the agreement more than a year ago. They were expected to sign a more detailed contract by the end of July 2005; but, highly likely postponed or at least wont be renewed after Israel's bombing of Gaza's electric plant. The deal will jumpstart Israel's “natural gas revolution,” hastening a switch in Israel's energy use from oil and coal to natural gas, a far cleaner and cheaper fuel source than coal, which provides 70 percent of the country's electricity. Israel claims its recent moves are retaliation for continued rocket attacks originating in Gaza that despite their consistency cause scant damage and few actual casualties. But the reasons may include motivations with roots back in 2000, when the British firm British Gas Group (BG) discovered proven natural gas reserves of at least 1.3 trillion cubic meters beneath Gazan territorial waters worth nearly $4 billion. The gas is located approximately 36 kilometers off of the Gaza coast, in an area that was designated as PA territory following the Oslo Accords. The British energy giant purchased the rights to the field in 2000. In January 2008, BG announced it was pulling the plug on negotiations with Israel due to the long impasse, and was again considering Egypt as a buyer. The Egyptian option includes liquefying up to a third of the gas for export to the US and Europe. BG announced plans to close its office near Tel Aviv at the end of January and sell its share in Israel's offshore Med Yavne natural gas field. Israel's declaration of Gaza "enemy entity" in 19 September 2007 & the predated Israel's siege on Gaza are declaration of war on Gaza; Palestinians have every right for self-defense.

Over the next 15 years, Israel will recieve a total of 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Egypt, and the deal could be extended for a further five years. The IEC and Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG), an Israeli-Egyptian consortium, approved the agreement more than a year ago. They were expected to sign a more detailed contract by the end of July 2005; but, highly likely postponed or at least wont be renewed after Israel's bombing of Gaza's electric plant. The deal will jumpstart Israel's “natural gas revolution,” hastening a switch in Israel's energy use from oil and coal to natural gas, a far cleaner and cheaper fuel source than coal, which provides 70 percent of the country's electricity. Israel claims its recent moves are retaliation for continued rocket attacks originating in Gaza that despite their consistency cause scant damage and few actual casualties. But the reasons may include motivations with roots back in 2000, when the British firm British Gas Group (BG) discovered proven natural gas reserves of at least 1.3 trillion cubic meters beneath Gazan territorial waters worth nearly $4 billion. The gas is located approximately 36 kilometers off of the Gaza coast, in an area that was designated as PA territory following the Oslo Accords. The British energy giant purchased the rights to the field in 2000. In January 2008, BG announced it was pulling the plug on negotiations with Israel due to the long impasse, and was again considering Egypt as a buyer. The Egyptian option includes liquefying up to a third of the gas for export to the US and Europe. BG announced plans to close its office near Tel Aviv at the end of January and sell its share in Israel's offshore Med Yavne natural gas field. Israel's declaration of Gaza "enemy entity" in 19 September 2007 & the predated Israel's siege on Gaza are declaration of war on Gaza; Palestinians have every right for self-defense.

to have electricity from Israel it bombards with rockets and is at war with, in effect. Let Gaza bombard Egypt like it has Israel and see how long it is on the map.

Buying gas from Gaza from either British Gas or some other company is to risky. We have seen from the Hamas take over that its not politicly stable and if Hamas or some other group decided to blow up pipelines because they were sending gas to Israel or chase out the BG employees and take over the gas fields Israel would have a major problem. Israel should be investing in other sources of fuel like windfarms out at sea, wavepower ( it has the medeteranian on its border make use of it ), neuclear .. Dimona was built for weapons development but the place is to old now to safley be allowed to continue to operate buy a new reactor which can also be used for generating electricty. Israel cannot afford to rely on arabs for its fuel. As for the Egyptians who cares if they have a shortage of power of their own as long as they are the ones responsible for keeping the lights on in Gaza and not Israel that is as they say their problem not Israels so its not something for Israel to worry about. We need to get the palestians buying their power from somebody else so there is more electricity avalible for use by Israelis and we are not supplying an enemy with power which is morraly wrong.

Current cost of MMbtu of gas is around 9 USD which works out roughly to 9USD per 37 sq meters or around 500 million USD per year for 15 years. Assume we are getting it for free and our GDP doesn't grow - it is growing by around 6% a year - that is less than 0.2% of GDP and in real terms would be a rounding error. The power plant in Gaza was bombed in July 2006, so why would that affect a signing of a contract a year prior - unless you are claiming the Egyptians are clairvoyant. Of course if we use your figures for the value of the "Gazan gas field", then the value of Egyptian gas deal is 50 million USD a year. This error comes about because you are lying about the size of the gas field off Gaza. Again note that 4billion USD - assuming it was ALL profit, firstly is 2% of GDP but also less than it costs Israel to keep fighting the Palestinians. Note also that between 2000 and today the Palestinians have been GIVEN in aid more than twice the supposed value of this gas field. If Israel was in Gaza for the gas, then surely it would not have pulled out of Gaza in 2005 but stayed there. And why would Israel fight for the right to BUY gas as opposed to owning it? If you are "defending" yourself, why did the Gazans decide to fire from Gaza into Israel when Israel was conducting no operations in Gaza? Finally, are you able to count or read? Is the english education system really that bad?

He mistakes cubic meter for cubic feet and he is basically taking the "argument" - and use this is the widest possible sense of the word - of history student writing for the electronic intifada. For those who don't know the EI, it is the site which claimed the "zionists" spread the rumour that there was a massacre at Jenin so the Palestinians would pick it up, repeat it and then be discredited ( Yes we ARE that sneaky!!! ). Of course Mr Bower was making the argument in 2006 when even if your argument about Israel using the Summer Rains campaign to "seize" the gas was nonsense it was not obviously a lie, something "observer" writing in 2008 - or some 18 months AFTER said "immenient seizure" - doesn't have the luxury of.