“Oil. Religion. Occupation. … A Combustible Mix.”

Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Victor Kattan secured the release of new documents under the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act. One revelation is that Israel may already be exploiting oil in the occupied Palestinian territories. As one official noted, this will make it even harder for Britain to justify aid for a land that could be self-reliant if it were free – further evidence of the need to push for an end to Israel’s occupation not pay for it.

The Egyptian-Israeli gas deal has come unstuck, partly due to the artificially low price Israel was paying for it. Will this help the Palestinians, whose gas fields off the coast of Gaza remain undeveloped and hostage to Israeli demands to be sold at ludicrously low prices?