Hossam Arafat, head of the public division for petroleum substances affiliated to the Federation of Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, said nothing prevents importing natural gas from Israel especially after Egypt needs it.
Egypt can cooperate with the “devil” so long as the deal satisfies public interest without affecting the national security, he added.
Speaking to the privately-owned TV channel Al-Arabiya on Monday, Arafat said that Egypt is in desperate need of natural gas in light of the high international prices. Moreover, importing gas from Israel or any other country will end many crises like the frequent power outages as well as the butane gas cylinder shortage.
Israel has no other alternative for exporting gas other than to Egypt for availability of natural gas pipeline, he said. “Consequently, we can get the gas at a very low price.”
Addressing those rejecting the importing from Israel, Arafat said “Whoever claims to be patriotic should offer an alternative to end crises of fuel.”
He also wondered “Why they refuse importing of gas from Israel, where there are [already] many agreements between Egypt and Israel as well as trade exchange?”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
