In a deal that has sparked outrage across the Muslim world and exposed the widening gulf between public sentiment and regime agendas, Israeli gas companies NewMed Energy and Leviathan partners have finalized a record-breaking $35 billion gas export agreement with Egypt, set to run through 2040 all while Israel continues its brutal military campaign in Gaza, which has been widely condemned as genocidal by international human rights experts.
The timing of this agreement is being called not just tone-deaf but morally bankrupt, as it comes amid Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza where over 38,000 Palestinians most of them civilians have been killed, entire neighborhoods flattened, and hospitals and schools targeted in what many describe as deliberate war crimes. Yet, Egypt a country that publicly condemns Israeli aggression has now solidified a decades-long economic pipeline with the very regime accused of ethnic cleansing against fellow Muslims.
The Israeli occupation of Palestine, long declared illegal by international law, has entered a darker phase since October 2023, with full-scale destruction in Rafah, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis. Despite this, Arab nations like Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, and others continue to normalize or deepen economic ties with Tel Aviv, cloaking betrayal in the name of “stability” and “strategic interest.” Their silence is not just diplomatic; it is complicit. Their deals are not just transactional; they are treasonous to the collective conscience of the Ummah.
This latest deal will see Israel’s Leviathan gas field pumping fuel through existing infrastructure into Egyptian LNG plants, from where it will be re-exported to Europe. While Europe gets cheaper gas and Israel bags billions, Palestinians in Gaza are being starved under siege, deprived of clean water, electricity, and medicine. The hypocrisy is staggering Israeli companies profit off resources while Palestinian children die of dehydration and Israeli bombs.
Strategically, this agreement strengthens Israel’s grip over regional energy markets and helps normalize its presence in a region where it was once isolated. It also gives Egypt, already under severe economic strain, a lifeline in terms of gas supply and financial benefit. But that lifeline comes at the cost of its moral authority and its once-proud claim as a defender of Palestinian rights. Egypt, once a bastion of pan–Islamic resistance, is now economically intertwined with an occupying force. For what? Temporary gains at the cost of eternal disgrace?
On the humanitarian front, this deal adds insult to injury. As the ICJ and international watchdogs investigate Israeli war crimes, as aid trucks are blocked at the border, as babies die in makeshift hospitals Israel is awarded billion–dollar contracts. In a world where human life should matter more than hydrocarbons, this agreement is a dark stain on the face of justice and Islamic solidarity.
Global reactions are mixed but telling. The UN has warned of worsening conditions in Gaza, while rights groups have called for economic sanctions on Israel. Meanwhile, Arab regimes have chosen silence or lukewarm condemnations, preferring trade over truth, and gas over Gaza. Public protests across the Muslim world continue to demand action, but their leaders are too entangled in Western contracts and security dependencies to respond.
This deal is not just about gas. It is about priorities. About who we empower when we forget the oppressed. About what we lose when we sell moral ground for material gain. It exposes the painful reality that while Palestine bleeds, the so-called protectors of the Muslim world are writing checks with one hand and offering statements of sympathy with the other.
As of now, construction and expansion of pipeline infrastructure are underway. European markets are celebrating. Tel Aviv is boasting of “regional cooperation.” Cairo remains tight-lipped. And Gaza? Gaza is burning.
Unless there is a tectonic shift in public accountability, regional realignment, and genuine Islamic solidarity, deals like these will continue to deepen the betrayal and history will record who stood with the oppressor, and who remained silent while Palestine was erased.
