The Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection has declared that it will postpone the implementation of a proposed oil transportation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), putting a stop to a project that has angered environmentalists, according to Al Jazeera.
Following the establishment of diplomatic links between the UAE and Israel last year, Gulf oil would have been transported by tankers to the Red Sea port of Eilat, then transported by pipeline across mainland Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, from where it would be delivered to Europe, according to the deal.
The oil agreement between Israel’s state-owned Europe-Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd, a joint venture between Israel and the UAE, has not launched.
However, campaigners have raised concerns about possible dangers to northern Red Sea corals off the coast of Eilat.
With tens of millions of tonnes of crude expected to pass through Israel each year, Israeli environmental groups challenged the plan in court, fearing the potential of a catastrophic leak or spill.
Last Monday, EAPC filed its response in court, accompanied by a risk assessment claiming that the danger from increased crude flow was negligible.
However, Israel’s environmental protection ministry said on Sunday that the risk assessment “did not meet the conditions” set by the government and so was invalid.
The ministry told EAPC in a letter that it was “delaying the evaluation of the preparations to increase activity in the Eilat port until the government has a discussion and reaches a decision” on the project.
Activists claim the agreement got past strict regulatory inspection since EAPC is a state-owned company working in the sensitive energy industry.
