RAMALLAH, Mar. 1 (JMCC) - Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court overruled a lower court decision to prevent the export of gas to Israel.
The ruling, however, did stipulate that Egypt should monitor the price and quantity of exports to ensure that local market demands are being met before anything was shipped abroad.
The ruling ends a legal battle that caused a public controversy which focused on the price of gas sold to Israel, and reflected Israel’s unpopularity among Egyptians despite a 1979 peace accord.
Gas started flowing to Israel through a pipeline for the first time in May 2008 under an agreement signed in 2005 for the supply of 1.7 billion cubic meters a year over 20 years.
Mohamed al-Husseini, the most senior judge of the panel which issued the verdict said: It is not within the jurisdiction of the courts to hear appeals against the government's decision to export gas to eastern Mediterranean markets, including Israel. It was a sovereign decision.