'Israel' braces for gas production blow amid war expansion fears
4 Min Read
Karish is the sole industrial platform that produces completely for local Israeli consumption, up to 35% last year.
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Israeli occupation gas rigs operate on the Tamar natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of occupied Palestine, on September 2, 2015. (AP)
"Israel" is bracing for a blow dealt to its gas production, the Israeli newspaper Globes revealed on Monday in a statement regarding the increasing repercussions of the war on the Israeli economy.
The potential impact of the war on gas production platforms was highlighted after October 7, when the Tamar platform was out of commission for a month. Gas from the Leviathan reservoir that was intended for export had to be diverted for local usage, Globes claimed.
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Israeli Navy coordinate action between them concerning the gas platforms, and where necessary decide on halting production.
An all-out battle with Hezbollah, which results in the halting of Karish production, will result in shockwaves in "Israel's" energy market and also impact Jordan and Egypt, which rely on Israeli gas imports, because "Israel" would be forced to seek alternative supplies for its own requirements.
Karish is the only production platform whose output is entirely for the domestic market as it supplied 34% of local consumption last year.
A true danger to the Leviathan platform, according to Globes, will be far more serious. If both Karish and Leviathan are shut down, "Israel" would have to modify the fuel mix for its power plants, and diesel and coal will be significantly more expensive than natural gas.
The effects of the possibility of expanding the war in northern occupied Palestine are not limited to gas and energy production, as it has even hit the Israeli stock market hard.
According to Bloomberg, Israeli stocks fell 2.3% on Sunday, the highest since late October. The shekel fell around 2% to 3.73 per dollar as of 4:20 pm in Tel Aviv down from the 1% recorded as of 10:45 am.
These scenarios are especially important as the prospect of an all-out war between "Israel" and Hezbollah has increased lately following the rocket attack on Majdal Shams.
Read more: Did an Israeli Iron Dome missile cause the Majdal Shams massacre?
An Israeli Iron Dome interceptor missile struck a playground in the town, killing at least 12 civilians, including children, and wounding at least a dozen others.
"Israel" was quick to pin the blame on Hezbollah and claimed that the Lebanese group targeted the town with an "Iranian rocket".
Hezbollah categorically denied Saturday that it targeted Majdal Shams, with many accusing "Israel" of using the incident as a pretext to carry out an aggression on Lebanon.
'Israel' will come to end if it wages war on Lebanon: Hezbollah MP
Meanwhile, speaking on Sunday, Mohammad Raad, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc in the Lebanese parliament, affirmed that the Israeli occupation entity will come to an end if it opts for a large-scale war against Lebanon.
Raad added that "Israel's" objectives in Gaza have failed due to the steadfastness of the people of the Strip, the heroism of its Resistance fighters, and the support provided by entities in the Axis of Resistance.
Following the Golan incident, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that "Israel will not let this murderous attack go unanswered and Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for it, a price it has not paid before," according to a statement from his office.
As the United States continues warmongering and accusing Hezbollah in Lebanon of carrying out the recent attack on the occupied Golan Heights, it simultaneously claimed it does not want tensions to escalate on the Palestinian-Lebanese border.
While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yet again claimed that all signs indicate that the rocket was hit by Hezbollah, without revealing any evidence in this regard or even footage, he revealed that he was in talks with "Israel", emphasizing that the situation in the occupied Palestinian North must not escalate.
He further stressed that a ceasefire in Gaza would be an opportunity to bring lasting calm to the Blue Line between occupied Palestine and Lebanon.
