Egypt annuls gas export deal with Israel

Cairo, April 23 (IANS) Egypt said Sunday that it has annulled a gas export deal with Israel due to violations of contractual obligations, according to Egypt's Nile TV.

Mohamed Shoeb, who heads the Egyptian natural gas holding company, said the government owned firm together with the General Authority for Petroleum annulled the contract with East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) which exports gas to Israel because it has not paid for the purchased gas for months.

"It was purely a business decision," Shoeb added.

EMG, the other party to the contract, was founded by fugitive businessman Hussein Salim, who is in detention in Spain pending extradition, reported Xinhua.

Salim is accused of involvement in exporting natural gas to Israel at lower-than-market prices.

The natural gas deal between Egypt and Israel was signed in 2005 at a price that critics said was far below the market value.

A pipeline in Sinai sending gas to Israel and Jordan was bombed April 9, the 14th time since last February, close to the time when the popular revolt started.