Everybody knows that Mubarak shut off the Internet a few weeks ago. Why is that? It's because we don't live there and that's how the MSM has decided to focus - obsessed as they are about what they don't get, and haven't monetized as well as Facebook and Twitter. But did you know about Arish-Ashkelon?
The Arish–Ashkelon pipeline is a 100 kilometres (62 mi) submarine gas pipeline connecting the Arab Gas Pipeline with Israel. Although it is not officially a part of the Arab Gas Pipeline project, it branches off from the same pipeline in Egypt. The pipeline is built and operated by the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), a joint company of Mediterranean Gas Pipeline Ltd (28%), the Israeli companyMerhav (25%), PTT (25%), EMI-EGI LP (12%), and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (10%).[10] The pipeline became operational in February 2008. Initially Egypt and Israel had agreed to supply through this pipeline 1.7 bcm of natural gas per year for use by the Israel Electric Corporation.[11] This has since been raised to 2.1 bcm per year to be delivered through the year 2028. In addition, by late 2009, EMG had signed contracts to supply through the pipeline additional 2 bcm per year to private electricity generators and various industrial concerns in Israel and negotiations with other potential buyers were ongoing. In 2010, the pipeline is supplying approximately half of the natural gas consumed in Israel, with the other half being supplied from domestic resources. The total physical capacity of the pipeline is 9 bcm per year and agreements between the two nations provide a framework for the purchase of up to 7.5 bcm per year of Egyptian gas by Israeli entities, making Israel one of Egypt's most important natural gas export markets.
Natural gas. From Egypt to Israel. Worth about $2 billion a year. Shut down. How? Oh.. just an explosion. We hear that there was a leak that just happened during the time of the uprising. OK, I can buy that. Accidents happen. But as we speak, half of Israel's natural gas suppies are cut.
So people have been speculating about the sort of agreements Americans have had with the Mubarak regime to cement the peace between Egypt and Israel. This is one of those that should be obvious, and clearly that would be reflected in the American participation in the above listed entities, etc. But if Debka is to be believed the news is not good:
The prospects of Egypt resuming its gas supplies to Israel dropped to zero Thursday, March 3 when Egypt’s state security prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmud announced that deposed president Hosni Mubarak would be summoned for questioning next week about allegedly corrupt deals for selling Israel Egyptian gas at knock-down prices, DEBKAfile’s Cairo sources report. Mahmud claimed he had documentary evidence that Egypt lost more than half a billion dollars on its gassales to Israel and sought to follow up suspicions that the difference was shared out between the Mubarak family and the Israeli and American partners in the transaction.
The flow of gas to Israel was suspended on Feb. 5 when Hamas blew up the pipeline running through Sinai during the Egyptian uprising. Our sources confirm that supplies will not be renewed until the end of the corruption inquiry which could go on for years.
Hamas? They blew it up? No! That couldn't be. And Americans were skimming money and splitting it with Mubarak - money the Israelis paid so they could have electricity? Could things be that complicated and desparate? What about the people's revolution?
Well at least the Egyptians have FaceTime. And surely Obama is on top of all this.
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