(Jerusalem) Environmental groups on Thursday hailed the Israeli government’s decision not to increase the flow of crude oil through the port of Eilat at the risk of jeopardizing an energy deal with the United Arab Emirates.
According to the agreement, oil from the Gulf is to be transported by tanker to the port of Eilat on the Red Sea, and then be transported by pipeline through Israeli territory to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, before ‘be shipped to Europe.
Three environmental groups filed a petition in May to block implementation of the deal, citing risks to Red Sea corals along Eilat’s coast.
At a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday, the government said it accepted the recommendations of the Ministry of Environmental Protection not to increase the flow of crude through Eilat, a precondition for the agreement to be reached, a. noted an AFP journalist.
Satisfied with this decision, the three organizations – Adam Teva Vadim, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and Zalul – subsequently withdrew their petitions.
They cited the risk of a leak or spill, given the tens of millions of tonnes of crude oil expected to pass through Israel each year.
“We welcome this significant result,” the NGOs said in a statement.
“Israel cannot be turned into a dangerous and polluting oil transit hub. We will continue to protect this unique coral reef, ”Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said in a statement.
His ministry had long been opposed to the deal involving the Israeli state-owned Europe-Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and the Israeli-Emirati company MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd.
He previously froze the deal, citing the need for a more in-depth environmental study.
The oil deal is one of many deals negotiated between Israeli and Emirati companies since relations were normalized under the Abraham Accords brokered by former US President Donald Trump.