Israel's natural gas cartel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's adamance in pursuing a deal for exploiting Israel's natural gas, despite it being roundly criticized by regulators, appears to have tentacles to casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and the US-Israel Business Initiative.
“You can quote me: I don’t give a damn.” It would seem that this succinct phrase directed toward participants at the Electricity Authority session (Aug. 6), convened to depose Chairwoman Orit Farkash-HaCohen, sums up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct concerning the natural gas issue — an issue that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Netanyahu’s disdain was immediately directed at Deputy Attorney General Avi Licht, who warned against the legal implications of deposing Farkash-HaCohen and appointing a replacement without tender. Her sins were in warning that Netanyahu’s natural gas plan would result in a steep rise in domestic utility bills and her refusal to approve the natural gas contracts with the Tamar gas field cartel. Now, it turns out that Netanyahu’s contempt had also been directed at Licht’s boss, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein. In a letter to the state comptroller, Weinstein remarked that Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, the prime minister’s yes man, had promised him that the incumbent regulators' status would not be hurt by the planned Electricity Authority reforms.
