Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced a $35 billion gas deal with Egypt on Wednesday evening as the US presses for a summit to bring together leaders of the two countries.
In a prime-time television statement, Mr. Netanyahu said the deal was “the most significant cooperation with Egypt and the best example of the peace treaty between our two countries.” While that may be true, it is also another example of how Israeli companies have dried up since then gas prospects many years ago. The agreement was valued at 112 billion shekels (around $34.6 billion), he added.
The deal involves American energy company Chevron and will supply gas to Egypt.
“This is a very big step towards realizing the vision of turning Israel to an energy power in the region, and this deal strengthens Israel’s standing as a central player in the regional energy market.” It is something that makes other companies come invest in gas exploration in Israel’s economic waters,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced ‘the largest gas deal in Israel’s history’, worth around $35 billion, with Egypt. Cairo has been a vocal critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but experts say the country is facing an energy crisis. pic.twitter.com/WkIS6Tb6Au
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 18, 2025
Israel, which had put off the formal approval of the deal for months, “capitulated to pressure from the Trump administration,” said an Israeli source familiar with the matter.
US President Donald Trump has been encouraging a summit between Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as he seeks more regional peace accords and an expanding the Abraham Accords.
Egypt maintains that the controversial gas deal with Israel is purely a business agreement based on economic and investment considerations, and has nothing to do with politics.
The agreement “does not include at all any political dimensions or related parties to the agreements, neither affiliated with the entity nor bound by it,” said Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the Egypt State Information Service, in a statement on Thursday.
“The arrangement is consistent with the overall strategy of Egypt, and an investment to maintain its status as the primary hub for trade in gas regionally within the Eastern Mediterranean,” Rashwan said.
Rashwan reiterated Egypt’s firm position on the Palestinian issue, and its support for the just rights of the Palestinian people.
Israel and Egypt signed an historic peace treaty in 1979, but the two countries’ leaders have not held a public meeting for nearly a decade.
The annoucement from Netanyahu was part of a push to set the stage for a possible meeting between the Israeli and Sisi, a second Israeli source said.
Minutes away, Netanyahu will fly to the United States to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago later this month.
Netanyahu had briefly been expected to join Trump at a peace summit in October in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, before abruptly canceling his participation.
Egypt has been a key player in trying to mediate an end to the Gaza war, but Netanyahu’s ties with Sisi have long been fraught.
