Secretive Israel-UAE oil deal endangers prized Eilat corals

A group of scuba divers prepares to exit the water after diving in the Red Sea near t the Europe-Asia Pipeline Company oil jetty in Israel's southern city of Eilat, Thursday, Aug, 5. 2021. A secretive oil deal between EAPC, an Israeli government-owned corporation, and MED-RED Land Bridge, a joint Israel-Emirati venture, would bring dozens of tankers alongside the coral reefs.

But the deal between the Europe-Asia Pipeline Company, an Israeli government-owned corporation, and MED-RED Land Bridge, a joint Israel-Emirati venture, remains a secret. Israel suffered its worst ecological disaster in February, when a spill in the eastern Mediterranean coated virtually all of its 270-kilometer coastline with oil. The petitioners — three Israeli environmental groups — argued that incident would “be dwarfed alongside a massive oil spill” off Eilat.

Ksenia Svetlova, an ex-lawmaker and director of Mideast relations with the Mitvim Institute, an Israeli think tank, said the project is especially appealing because it provides an alternative to the Suez Canal. The canal, the main waterway for Gulf exports to the West, was paralyzed early this year when a massive tanker ran aground there.

Israel’s new environment minister has pledged to scrap the pipeline altogether and her ministry has frozen the company’s planned expansion of operations, pending a government decision. “We have a real potential loss to humanity and to global biodiversity,” said Gidon Bromberg, head of the cross-border EcoPeace environmental group.

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