JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Qatar on Thursday pledged $60 million to build a natural gas pipeline from Israel into the Gaza Strip that will end the energy crisis that has helped cripple the Gaza economy.The Qatari statement, published on its Foreign Ministry website, came two days after Reuters reported that closed-door negotiations on the pipeline had reached a breakthrough.
Qatar coming on board publicly gives another boost to the project, which has a 2023 target date for completion.
The plan is for natural gas from the deepwater Leviathan field operated by Chevron in the eastern Mediterranean to flow through an existing pipeline into Israel, and from there into Gaza through a proposed new extension.
