{"id":4331,"date":"2014-07-25T11:08:34","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T10:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2014-07-25T11:08:34","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T10:08:34","slug":"one-thing-learnt-week-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/?p=4331","title":{"rendered":"One thing we have learnt this week – Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"00001\"<\/a>Is the war in Gaza not about terrorism but control of energy?\u00a0 This<\/a> idea was raised this week in the Guardian (other links in this article).\u00a0 A few years ago it was announced that a very large gas field had been found of the coast of Gaza\/Israel (Leviathan @18 trillion cubic feet).\u00a0 When I read this my heart sank, but I’d almost forgotten about it until this week.\u00a0 Some other fields have also been found as far back as 2000.\u00a0 Part of the issue is that Israel does not show up under the gas heading as an individual country in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, i.e. little if any of this gas has made it ashore (one field Tamar started producing gas last year).\u00a0 Maybe it will show up next year. \u00a0 British Gas have tried to reach an agreement to bring the gas ashore from the field found in 2000 first with the Palestinian authority but in 2001 with another uprising Israel put a stop to that.\u00a0 Then Hamas came to power…\u00a0 Its reckoned that in the Eastern end of the Med there is 122 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.6 billion barrels of oil.\u00a0 But these waters are disputed by Cyprus\/Lebanon\/Turkey\/Palestinians\/Israel etc.<\/p>\n

Israel thinks its set-up with gas for a very long time (although this is disputed), but its certainly true that it has struggled with energy security for decades.\u00a0 It was hit by the 70’s energy crisis’s very hard and its Arab neighbours were obviously not going to sell it oil.\u00a0 Solar hot water collectors were made mandatory and despite being surrounded by hostile countries Israel built nuclear reactors (although this might have more to do with development of nuclear weapons).\u00a0 Electricity is expensive and solar PV is taking off.<\/p>\n

Its difficult living in a peaceful country to put yourself in mindset of those living in either Gaza or Israel, but lets try.\u00a0 If you live in Gaza you have been squeezed into a small area (one of the highest populations densities in the world).\u00a0 Your economy has been severely damaged by the Israelis and the Egyptians and is very dependent on foreign aid for its present high rate of growth1<\/sup>.\u00a0 There is a maximum of 12 hours a day of electricity and a shortage of medicines at the best of times and you are ruled by Hamas which lives and breathes confrontation with Israel.\u00a0 Much of what you need is smuggled in through tunnels (along with missiles).\u00a0 Many\u00a0Palestinians work in Israel2<\/sup>.\u00a0 If you live in Israel you are surrounded by former and current enemies (the former just about tolerate you).\u00a0 Every few years Hamas smuggles in enough rockets to launch attacks you on some pretext.\u00a0 (We should remember why this particular repeat episode kicked off.\u00a0 Hamas supporters brutally murdered three teenage boys.\u00a0\u00a0Israel did some very heavy handed police work looking for the suspects who have not to my knowledge been found, killing other people in the process.\u00a0 Some idiot(s)* in Israel (caught on CCTV) kidnapped a Palestinian teenager, burning him alive.\u00a0 Hamas decided to check their rocket inventory…)<\/p>\n

Most rockets from Gaza fail to get through and you respond, there is eventually a truce brokered by Egypt but huge destruction in Gaza follows and many more mainly civilian deaths.\u00a0 A few years later the cycle repeats.\u00a0 Things look bad enough to the outside observer but throw into the fact that the entire eastern Med is floating on gas reserves of which may have peaked<\/a> globally then you have a recipe for conflict for decades to come.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that the current situation is getting neither party anywhere fast.\u00a0 Israel is not getting the security it deserves and the Palestinians have no life much less a state.\u00a0 Both sides need to get back to basics.<\/p>\n