A report issued by Israeli media on Wednesday stated that Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg demanded to cancel an agreement that had been signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The agreement in question was signed between the Israeli state firm Europe Asia Pipeline Co. (EAPC) and the UAE-based MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd over the transportation of Emirati crude oil via Israel to Europe. According to the agreement, crude oil and fuel would be transported from the Gulf to Western markets through a pipeline between the Israeli port Eilat on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon.
Israeli Minister Zandberg, who belongs to the leftist Meretz Party, issued his call over environmental and security concerns, the report indicated. Following the signing of the agreement last year, Israeli environmental activists staged demonstrations to protest the Israeli-Emirati deal.
The deal also caused eyebrows to rise in Egypt over fears that it would affect the transportation of oil via the Suez Canal on the grounds that revenues derived from this trade may be affected, as well.
Emphasizing the normalization agreement, which was signed between the two countries in September 2020, the UAE officials warned that a diplomatic crisis might occur if the Israeli government cancels the agreement, the report added.
Any statement confirming or denying the report has yet to come from neither the Israeli government nor the UAE authorities.
Since the two countries inked the US-brokered normalization agreement, it is seen that relations between them have experienced a steady increase. In this context, dozens of bilateral agreements in various fields, including investment, banking services, and tourism, have been signed between Israel and the UAE.
