Israeli gas supply to Egypt will surely bolster relations between the two countries, claims a former envoy, but it won't be able to get the two peoples closer, simply because Egypt still harbours strong anti-israel sentiments that even President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi cannot change.
It has been a month since Israel, which has been positioning itself as a new regional gas player, started exporting resources to its southern neighbour Egypt.
According to reports, the initial supply will come from the Leviathan field, considered the largest energy project in Israel's history, but gas is also expected to flow this summer from the smaller Tamar reservoir.
Reversed Scenario
Just a decade ago, that wasn't the case. Historically, energy-hungry israel has been importing its gas from Egypt but that supply came to an end in 2011.
Zvi Mazel, Israel's former ambassador to Egypt, says there were several factors that contributed to the end of that cooperation.
First and foremost, it was the eruption of the Arab Spring that reached Egypt in January 2011.
“When President Hosni Mubarak stepped down and was later replaced by a Muslim Brotherhood Member Mohammed Morsi, who in turn was ousted by the current leader Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, it reflected badly on the stability of the gas flow”, he said.
The change of leadership hasn't contributed to the security situation either, with militants from various terrorist groups bombing the gas pipeline a dozen times during 2011 and 2012.
When the flow…
