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Egypt court orders freeze on Isarael gas exports

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A Cairo court on Tuesday overruled the Egyptian government’s decision to allow exports of natural gas to Israel and said the constitution gave parliament the right to decide on sales of natural resources.

But Israel expressed confidence that the Egyptian government would not allow any interruption to gas deliveries under the deal despite the court order.
 
A senior Egyptian official said the verdict did not require immediate implementation and the government would appeal against it. Cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady said the government respected the judiciary but could not comment until it receives the ruling.

Judicial sources said the government could ignore the ruling, as it has done in many past cases, or postpone action by filing a countersuit challenging the decision.

Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructure said it was confident the political agreement covering the gas between the Egyptian and Israeli governments would remain in effect.

"The … ministry has no doubt that deals between the Egyptian gas company and its customers in Israel remain valid.

The ministry is convinced that the supply of gas from Egypt to Israel will continue as usual," it added.

Former diplomat Ibrahim Yussri, along with some members of the opposition, brought the case against the government several months ago.
 
Judicial Wrangling

Gas started flowing to Israel through a pipeline for the first time in May under an agreement signed in 2005 for the supply of 1.7 billion cubic meters a year over 20 years.

The group of lawyers who filed the suit against the government said the Israelis were buying the gas at prices below the international level. The Egyptian government is reluctant to reveal the price it receives for natural gas exports.

The government never submitted the gas deal with Israel to parliament, arguing it was a private arrangement between EMG and the state-owned utility company Israel Electric Corp. and therefore outside the court’s jurisdiction.

The court, however, ruled that "national resources belong to current and future generations, and the executive must first get parliament’s approval" on gas export deals, a judicial source told AFP.

"(Parliament) is the body best qualified to monitor the actions of the administration with regards to granting concessions to exploit natural wealth," the court said, quoted by the Egyptian state news agency MENA.

Some Egyptian leftists and Arab nationalists oppose in principle the sale of gas to Israel, which fought four wars with Egypt between 1948 and 1973 before making peace in 1979, though relations are not “normalized.”

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood opposition, which controls a fifth of seats in parliament, has opposed exporting gas to Israel because of what it calls the country’s punishing blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
 
THE PALESTINE CHRONICLE

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Valedictory hot air

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Valedictory hot air

Rice’s last and final visit to Israel/Palestine is conclusive proof that the neocons achieved nothing and could offer nothing, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

The 24th visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Palestine-Israel this week didn’t differ much from her previous visits, especially in substance. Rice, who held meetings with Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, followed by joint press conferences in both West Jerusalem and Ramallah, essentially regurgitated the same platitudes and false promises she voiced ever since she assumed the top diplomatic post nearly four years ago.

Finding virtually nothing to clutch to in terms of hard achievements in the so- called peace process, Rice put a brave face on her apparent colossal failure to get Israel to end its decades-old occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. She told PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who seemed to be coming to terms with the inanity of the process, that the near end of the Bush administration didn’t mean the end of prospects for peace. She added that she would brief the upcoming Obama administration on the status of Israeli-Palestinian talks so that the new administration wouldn’t have to start from scratch.

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Interventionism not muslims is the problem

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Interventionism, Not Muslims, Is the

Problem


by Jacob G. Hornberger

[Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.]
One of the popular post-9/11 sentiments has been the one that holds that Muslims are bent on conquering the world. The notion is that Muslims hate Christianity and Western freedom and values and that such hatred is rooted in the Koran and stretches back centuries. Thus, the United States has been drawn, reluctantly, into a war against Muslims. Thats why U.S. forces are in Iraq and Afghanistan, the argument goes to defend our freedoms by killing Muslims over there before they get over here and kill us.

I sometimes wonder whether the people who have this mindset have reflected on the ramifications of their belief.

For example, if Muslims in general are at war with the United States, then why shouldnt Americans be out killing Muslims here in the United States? After all, when a nation is at war, isnt it permissible to kill the enemy? Isnt that what war is all about?

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Financial crisis at interpal

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Dear Friends,
Assalamu Alaikum – Peace be upon you.
I am writing to you because we are faced by a totally unexpected crisis which has the potential to force us to cease operations early next month.
We received notification the day before yesterday from our bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), that Lloyds TSB (their clearing bank) have served notice on IBB to cease all dealings with Interpal. The notice comes into effect on 8 December 2008 (a nice Eid prsent!). After this time “all transactions into or out of Interpal accounts will be blocked and IBB will be at further risk of all its customer payments being suspended.” IBB has offered us its total support but is apparently powerless in this situation, throwing into question the autonomy of Britain’s burgeoning Islamic finance sector.
As you can imagine, this has the potential not only to damage Interpal but also to affect community relations (and cohesion) in Britain. The bank hasn’t even waited for the Charity Commission to publish its latest report on Interpal.
No reason at all is given for this draconian and punitive measure, taken without any consideration for the thousands of contributors who have placed their faith in us to assist the needy of Palestine – and who want to continue to do so. Needless to say, it will be an administrative nightmare to transfer the thousands of standing orders that we have, etc.
By acting in this way, Lloyds TSB has treated IBB with contempt. Their action sends a signal to other Muslim charities – as well as the bank’s 50,000 Muslim account holders – that their accounts can be closed down without warning or explanation at any time.
It is, at the very least, an example of the utter lack of respect faced by the Muslim community from some hostile quarters in this country.
Perhaps it should be pointed out to Lloyds TSB that Muslims are among the British taxpayers who have bailed out the bank after years of wasteful mismanagement!
Be that as it may – we are less than a month away from a potentially very difficult and testing situation. We are currently mobilising all the support we can to try to persuade the banks to rescind this decision – and hope and pray that we can look to you for guidance, advice and practical support at this critical time.
We are calling upon our friends and supporters, and all who stand for justice in the face of oppression to contact Lloyds-TSB and the Islamic Bank of Britain to ask them to rescind this outrageous, unfair and arbitrary decision.
Your support in this will be much appreciated.
Islamic Bank of Britain plc,
Edgbaston House,
3, Duchess Place,
Hagley Road,
BIRMINGHAM,
B16 8NH.
Tel: 0121 452 7330 / 0845 6060786
Bulat Betalgiry,
Lloyds TSB Bank plc,
1st Floor,
25, Gresham Street,
LONDON,
EC2V 7HN
Tel: 020 7661 4778
Many thanks.
Ibrahim Hewitt
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Interpal

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