The state is asking the court to dismiss the petition of the green organizations regarding the agreement signed by a company EPA The government with Red-Med, which significantly increases the transportation of crude oil in the Gulf of Eilat, and turns Israel into a land bridge to transport oil to the world. According to the state’s response to the High Court, As submitted tonight (Thursday), the EPA does not require the government agreement, and there is no exception that requires its intervention. Despite the statements of many ministers in recent months against the agreement, the state does not express its position on the agreement.
According to the state’s response, the government does not consider it appropriate to cancel the agreement signed by the government-owned EPA with Red-Med, since it does not restrict the government’s activities and is therefore not contrary to the Government Companies Law. EPA’s ability to fully implement the agreement through the “zero additional risk” policy it has established, the petition according to the state’s position, is superfluous.
The state also claims that the EPA does not limit the state’s ability to act in the fight against climate change, since despite the signing of the said agreement, “the government continues to take an active part in the fight against the climate crisis, even more so.” The state also claims that in the framework of the Avraham agreements, a cooperation agreement was signed in the energy sector for the construction of a solar field in exchange for desalinated water with Jordan. “A – is not actually implemented at this stage, and is in the initial stages of formation without any binding binding details.
The position submitted this evening to the High Court by the state is similar to the position of the offices of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister, as published this week. The agreement will not be revoked, and the government will not hold a discussion at this stage on its approval or rejection under the Government Companies Law, but will place the weight on the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which at this stage limits EPAs’ ability to transport more than 2 million tons in the Gulf of Eilat. “In recent months, they have waged a struggle with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and even threatened to take legal action if the Ministry of Environmental Protection insists on its refusal.
There is almost complete confidentiality of EPA activities, so it is not possible to know in practice how much oil the company has moved through Eilat in recent years or how much the company wants to increase its oil activity under the Poisons Permit, issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The Ministry of Environmental Protection did define a “zero-risk” policy in the Gulf, thus halting the EPA’s ability to fully implement the agreement for the time being, but this year the amount of oil tankers that plagued Eilat was probably Unprecedented.
The agreement with the Emirates allows the EPA, according to estimates, to increase the number of tankers 30 times the average in the last decade. . In the last decade, 2.5 oil tankers have visited the Gulf of Eilat a year, and this year the quantity has more than quadrupled: it is estimated that in 2021 the quantity reached 1.4 million tons, using 10 oil tankers. This is the highest number of tankers that have entered the Gulf of Eilat in the last decade, despite the corona crisis and the slowdown in the oil market. For several years, there were no tankers at the port of Eilat at all.
After signing the oil agreement with the emirate, the Ministry of Environmental Protection returned and approved the EPA to transport two million tons of oil through the Gulf, and actually increase the number of tankers that visit the city compared to the current decade. Full of the oil agreement – the risks to the marine environment in the Gulf of Eilat have actually increased in the field compared to previous years.
Rani Amir, director of the National Unit for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told “Globes”: We are concerned about any tanker that enters the area, and the implementation of the agreement signed by the EPA could have cast a heavy shadow over the Gulf of Eilat. “Renewable energies lead to the cessation of the use of fossil fuels. If the Ministry of Energy says that the EPA port in Eilat is not a strategic facility, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will be the first to relinquish this environmental risk in Eilat.”
According to the EPA, according to the agreement, in the next five years the number of oil tankers visiting Eilat will increase moderately. The maximum number of tankers, in a few years, will be “several dozen a year.”
“Oil spills cannot be completely prevented”
The only way, at this stage, to fully block the implementation of the oil agreement – is a government decision, an option that the government today preferred not to accept. This is despite a long line of ministers announcing their opposition to the EPA agreement: alongside Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yair Lapid, he told the Climate Youth, who demonstrated outside his home, this week that an EPA agreement will not happen. As you can see, I’m against it. ” However, the director general of his office, Naama Schultz, together with the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, Yair Pines, signed the decision that the government will not cancel the EPA agreement and allow the Ministry of Environmental Protection to act on the issue on the ground.
Yair Lapid for Climate Youth: “The EPA agreement will not happen, as you can see, I am against it, and I think it should be dealt with intellectually, carefully and without harming foreign relations.” Lapid’s office is a partner in the position of the Rahm bureau, according to which the government will not intervene in the agreement but will let the Ministry of Environmental Protection block it on the ground. This is a rather temporary solution – if Zandberg is replaced> pic.twitter.com/tJtZu9MA4A
– Shani Ashkenazi | ني اشكِنزي | Shani Ashkenazi @ (@ShaniAshkenazi) December 14, 2021
The Minister of Energy, Karin Elharar, also opposed the agreement, claiming that its implementation has no significance for the local energy economy since it is oil intended for export, but it imposes risks on the Gulf of Eilat. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Tourism Minister Yoel Rezbozov also opposed the agreement. In a closed discussion, Defense Minister Bnei Gantz sought to examine the security significance of the agreement – but did not seek to freeze or cancel it, but to leave the matter to the professional ministries dealing with it.
The Minister of Finance, the trust as regulator for the activities of the EPA, Avigdor Lieberman, did not express his position, but the director general of his office wrote in a scathing letter that the agreement should be implemented and that there was no defect in the signing process. Despite the statements, so far, the government has not held a joint discussion on the cancellation of the agreement.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection emphasized in their position to the court the importance of protecting the marine environment. According to the ministry, “Coral reefs are becoming extinct all over the world as a result of the climate crisis and various phenomena, and the Red Sea reef plays an important role in maintaining the health of the natural marine system. Oil spills cannot be completely prevented.” The Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg, says that “we are still concerned about the potential for marine pollution from the entry of oil tankers today, even without expanding the agreement. This is when our office is in a chronic shortage of manpower and equipment. And to meet our needs – certainly as long as the EPA terminal and the port of Eilat are active to the current extent. “
EPA response: “After many months of defamation and unfounded allegations against the agreement, the State’s position in its response to the High Court, on behalf of all respondent government ministries, once again proves that EPA has acted and is acting in accordance with relevant law and directives and prior coordination with them. “The engagement in the Med-Red agreement and its implementation is part of the core of the company’s normal and routine activities since its inception. The company will continue in the professional and continuous dialogue with the Ministry of Environmental Protection in order to promote its important and vital activities.”
The Coalition of Organizations Against the EPA’s oil deal stated: “The state’s choice not to use its power to cancel a dangerous agreement of a government company, which will turn Israel into a corridor for transporting and storing fuels without its needs, with all the risks involved, is a serious violation of Israel’s responsibility And the environment as various government ministries have made clear in their position against the agreement in light of the many risks.
“However, the position of the state, as reflected in the document signed by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, is not to interfere with the position of the regulator – the Ministry of Environmental Protection headed by Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg, who has already announced zero risk. To the Gulf of Eilat. This is good news for the Gulf of Eilat and the Mediterranean, for the residents of Eilat, the Negev, the Arava and Ashkelon, and for the rare natural values of Israel.
“We, along with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, will continue to work to ensure that the EPA’s oil deal does not materialize.”