Saboteurs attack Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan

CAIRO (AFP) – Unknown saboteurs attacked an Egyptian pipeline supplying gas to Jordan, forcing authorities to switch off gas supply from a twin pipeline to Israel, an official told AFP.

The attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip, the official said. It was initially thought the pipeline to Israel was attacked.

another Mubarak government excuse for a brutal crackdown. These guys are good, but then again you don’t get to run a 30 year oppressive police state by being an amateur. You have to be willing to kill people to maintain total control over them, and Mubarak has shown he’s more than willing to do that.

Let's think about this...

If it were the MB, they would simply blow up the line to Isreal and say "Hey look what we did!".

If it were Al Queda, they would simply blow up the line to Isreal and say "Hey look what we did!".

If it were the Mubarak regime, they would blow up the least painful($) line to Egypt and say "Hey look what the MB did!"

If it were Isreal, they would blow up the least painful($) line to Isreal and say "Hey look what the MB did!"

Who else sells gas to Isreal and Jordan? They could blow up either line and wouldn't need to say a thing.

[snip]Israel is concerned that a post-Mubarak regime might not respect the bilateral peace treaty signed three decades ago -- potentially threatening the crucial energy supplies Egypt provides.

A broad swathe of Egypt's opposition, including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, as well as public opinion, has called for Cairo to stop supplying Israel with gas.

Landau on Monday summoned the heads of Israeli companies that are developing the offshore Tamar gas field -- due to start production in 2013 -- to urge them to push ahead with its timely development, his office said.

Landau told them Tamar's importance was even greater "in these times of unrest in our region." The field, off the port city of Haifa in northern Israel, holds estimated reserves of eight billion cubic metres (280 billion cubic feet).

Israel's Globes financial newspaper reported that Landau's ministry had conducted exercises dealing with emergency scenarios in which gas supplies were cut off. It gave no further details. [end]

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