EILAT: Israeli environmentalists are warning that a UAE-Israeli oil pipeline deal threatens unique Red Sea coral reefs and could lead to 鈥渢he next ecological disaster.鈥�
The agreement to bring Emirati crude oil by tanker to a pipeline in the Red Sea port of Eilat was signed after Israel normalized ties with the Gulf Arab nation late last year and should come into force within months.
With experts warning of possible leaks and spills at the aging Eilat port, and the Israeli environmental protection ministry demanding 鈥渦rgent鈥� talks on the deal, activists mobilized last week.
They held a protest in a parking lot overlooking Eilat鈥檚 oil jetty against what they see as a disaster waiting to happen, chanting that profits will be made 鈥渁t the expense of corals.鈥�
鈥淭he coral reefs are 200 meters (yards) from where the oil will be unloaded,鈥� said Shmulik Taggar, an Eilat resident and founding member of the Society for Conservation of the Red Sea Environment.
鈥淭hey say the tankers are modern and there won鈥檛 be any problem,鈥� he said, warning however that 鈥渢here鈥檚 no way there won鈥檛 be a malfunction.鈥�
He predicted that with the projected arrival of two to three tankers a week, traffic will be 鈥渂ack-to-back.鈥�
This, he said, would also impact the aesthetic of a city promoting ecological tourism.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 sell green tourism when you have oil tankers by the dock,鈥� he said.
The Jewish state and the UAE established ties last year as part of the US-brokered 鈥淎braham Accords.鈥�
One of the deals that followed was a Memorandum of Understanding between Israel鈥檚 state-owned Europe-Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and a new entity called MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd. 鈥� a joint venture between Abu Dhabi鈥檚 National Holding company and several Israeli firms.
In October, EAPC announced a 鈥渂inding MoU鈥� with MED-RED to bring crude from UAE to Eilat and then transport it by pipeline to Israel鈥檚 Mediterranean city of Ashkelon for onward export to Europe.
Taggar argued that deals benefitting the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the environment are 鈥渘ot in the spirit of our times.鈥�
鈥淚t might have been appropriate in the 1960s and 1970s, before we were a developed state,鈥� he said.
Activists argue the deal evaded tough regulatory scrutiny because of EAPC鈥檚 status as a state-owned firm working in the sensitive energy sector.
While coral populations around the world are under threat from bleaching caused by climate change, the reefs in Eilat have remained stable due to their unique heat resistance.
Eilat鈥檚 coral beach reserve extends some 1.2 kilometers (almost a mile) off the city鈥檚 coast, protecting reefs that are home to a rich variety of marine life.
But their proximity to the EAPC port puts them at grave risk, Nadav Shashar, professor of marine biology at Beersheba鈥檚 Ben Gurion University, told AFP.
The infrastructure is not set up to prevent accidents and only designed 鈥渢o treat pollution once it鈥檚 already in the water,鈥� said Shashar, who is also head of marine biology and biotechnology at Eilat鈥檚 Interuniversity Institute for Marine Science.
Shashar, one of 230 experts who petitioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the deal, argued that with the increase of shipments, 鈥渢he result will be a constant leak of oil pollution.鈥�
After the agreement was struck in October, EAPC said it could increase oil flow through Eilat by 鈥渢ens of millions of tons per year.鈥�
Contacted by AFP, the company declined to discuss the deal鈥檚 specifics but stressed that its equipment was 鈥渟tate of the art鈥� and up to international standards.
The environmental protection ministry said it had fulfilled its oversight role but also called for an 鈥渦rgent discussion of all relevant governmental bodies鈥� to review the deal.
The talks, a statement said, 鈥渨ould examine all angles 鈥� including the environmental ones 鈥� of increasing the volume of crude oil being transported.鈥�
Shashar said the goal was not to close down EAPC but to 鈥渓imit the extent of its use to something that can be handled.鈥�
Some activists have voiced more militant views, including Michael Raphael of the international Extinction Rebellion movement.
Raphael, who came to the recent rally armed with a bullhorn, said he was aiming to set up an Extinction Rebellion chapter in Eilat to resist the UAE deal.
鈥淚f the problem isn鈥檛 solved, we鈥檒l have to get in the way of things,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 just demonstrate ... we disrupt the work of those who pollute.鈥�