Control of Mediterranean gas fields is not the reason for the current attack on Gaza, but the theft of Palestine’s natural resources has long been a goal of the Zionist settler-colonial project and its Western sponsors.
Thirteen years after the discovery of gas fields off the coast of Gaza, efforts to develop them remain deadlocked despite the international backing the project enjoys. Meanwhile, the besieged Gaza Strip suffers prolonged power cuts and the Palestinian economy bears a huge financial cost – as do the Western taxpayers keeping it afloat. Al-Shabaka Program Director Victor Kattan discusses the actors and amounts involved as well as the reasons why the project has stalled and recommends some policy options to break the deadlock.