Israel Tightens Grip on West Bank's Natural Gas Resources
The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority has expressed concern over a new Israeli military order regulating the natural gas sector in the West Bank.
In an interview with NoonPost, engineer Abdel Hadi Barakat, director general of the Projects Department at the Authority, stated that this decision goes beyond regulating the energy sector to establishing an infrastructure system tied to Israeli settlements and industrial zones.
The order grants Israel powers to manage a strategic resource inside Palestinian territory, raising questions about the future of Palestinian natural resources and the prospects for building an independent energy sector.
According to Barakat, this decision reflects a clear tendency by the current Israeli government to tighten control over Palestinian land, resources, and natural wealth. Economically, the massive investments required to establish natural gas distribution networks in existing settlements do not appear highly viable at present. However, the real reading of this decision goes beyond economic considerations.
The expansion of the gas sector is part of a broader strategy that uses energy to serve economic and settlement goals while also providing the foundations for security and military dimensions of this project.