A Glimmer Of Hope For Gazans To Realize Their Dream Of Having Electricity Supply

Illustration of Gas Pipeline (Wikimedia Commons/Glen Dillon)

JAKARTA - For a long time, it has only been a formless dream, the gas pipeline project that crosses the political boundary between Israel and Palestine for Gazans, slowly begins to see a bright spot.

The prolonged conflict between Palestine and Israel, followed by the breakdown of peace talks in 2014, as well as mutual suspicion and frequent clashes, have clouded the fate of the gas pipeline project for Gaza.

But Israeli, Palestinian, Qatari, and European interests have met in recent weeks with the aim of getting gas to Gaza by 2023, officials said.

It is planned that natural gas from the deep-sea Leviathan field, operated by Chevron in the eastern Mediterranean, will be flowed through the existing pipeline to Israel. From there, the gas will be delivered with a newly proposed pipeline extension.

Under the mutual agreement, the Israeli side of the pipeline is planned to be funded by Qatar. Meanwhile, the pipeline and flow for the Palestinian side will be financed by the European Union.

If successful, the pipeline project will for the first time in years provide a stable source of energy to the Gaza Strip, ending rolling blackouts that have helped cripple the economy of the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Gas pipeline project illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / Commons Ohikulkija)

"We are talking about Gaza having 24-hour electricity, providing the basis for large economic growth and a contributor to peace and stability," said Director of Energy Office of the Quartet, a group initiating Israeli peace with Palestine Ariel Ezrahi, told Reuters.

"The recent events represent a real breakthrough," continued Ezrahi, who heads the gas task force for Gaza which has been funded by the Dutch government since 2015.

The European Union made an initial commitment of 5 million euros, to fund projects from the Gaza side last week. The plan is for the project to have a pipeline of 4 kilometers long and cost around 20 million euros.

Meanwhile, Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip Mohammed Al-Emadi said the head of his country's SAWA news agency would fund a pipeline on the Israeli side that would stretch for 45 kilometers at a cost of 70 million euros.

Asked about the Gaza pipeline, Chevron said it hoped to support Israel's strategy to develop its energy resources for the benefit of the state and territory, but did not comment on issues of a commercial nature.

For information, Gaza which has an area of 360 square kilometers is a coastal area located between Egypt's Sinai peninsula and Tel Aviv.

There is no access to the outside world except through Israel, which controls 90% of its land and sea borders, and Egypt, which has a narrow land border to the south.

Currently, Gaza's only power plant generates around 12 hours of electricity a day on diesel, a more expensive and polluting fuel.

The gas pipeline project is expected to quadruple the power generation capacity, thereby producing a more stable electricity supply for Gaza.

"Hopefully an agreement can be reached in a few weeks, allowing electricity costs to fall by 60 percent, and electric power can reach a maximum of 140 megawatts," hoped the Vice Chairman of Palestine Electric Company (PEC), Walid Salman.