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U.N. special rapporteur Francesca Albanese criticized a roughly $35 billion natural gas deal involving Egypt and Israel, calling it a violation of international law, as Egyptian officials said the agreement was a purely commercial arrangement with no political dimensions.
She described it as “a staggering signal of support for Israel during the genocidal war against Palestinians,” as she put it.
In a post on her official account on X, Albanese said, “States must stop putting profit over humanity,” stressing that describing the deal as purely commercial does not negate its legal and moral implications.
It is worth noting that in May, Albanese called for senior European Union officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to be charged with complicity in war crimes over their support for Israel during its assault on the Gaza Strip.
The U.N. rapporteur’s remarks came in response to official Egyptian statements asserting that the agreement carries no political dimensions.
Egypt’s State Information Service said last Thursday that the gas deal was concluded between private energy companies, in line with market rules, and without direct government intervention.
Diaa Rashwan, head of the agency, said in an official statement that “the agreement is a purely commercial deal concluded on the basis of purely economic and investment considerations, and does not include any political dimensions or understandings of any kind.” He added that the deal “serves a clear strategic interest for Egypt, namely strengthening its position as the sole regional hub for gas trade in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
The Egyptian statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday evening that his government had approved a gas export agreement with Egypt, describing it as “the largest gas deal in Israel’s history.”
Netanyahu said in a televised address alongside Energy Minister Eli Cohen that “the deal is worth 112 billion shekels (about $34.7 billion), of which 58 billion shekels (around $18 billion) will go to the state treasury.”
Netanyahu added that the agreement was signed with U.S. company Chevron, alongside Israeli partners, to supply Egypt with natural gas from the Leviathan field. He said Israel signed the export agreement with Chevron and its partners in August to supply gas worth up to $35 billion.
However, Israel Hayom reported earlier that Netanyahu had issued instructions in September not to proceed with implementing the gas deal with Egypt without his personal approval. The move came amid Israeli allegations that Egypt had “violated the peace treaty” by reinforcing its military presence in the Sinai Peninsula. Cairo has repeatedly denied the claims.
The legal basis for relations between the two sides dates back to the peace treaty signed in Washington on March 26, 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The treaty stipulated an end to the state of war, the normalization of relations, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Sinai, with the area remaining demilitarized.
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