Morocco / Algeria: the Israeli trap?

[Ziri]

Maroc/Algérie : le piège israélien ?

N'était-ce pas un peu prémédité, ce conflit vers quoi sont poussé le Maroc et l'Algérie? S'il est vrai qu'Alger a avalé bien des couleuvres avant d'agir, a...

parstoday.com

Morocco / Algeria: the Israeli trap?
Sep 09, 2021 17:30 UTC

Was it not a little premeditated, this conflict towards which Morocco and Algeria are pushed? If it is true that Algiers swallowed many snakes before acting, waiting for the evidence of guilt of Rabat to accumulate, that it goes beyond the instigation of the US-Tel Aviv axis the Rubicon in attacking first Kabylia, then Algerian national security, it is also true that this mega-coup which consists in definitively suspending the Algeria Morocco Europe gas pipeline would have to look no further.

An Israel whose normalization with the Gulf states has given way, threatened as it is by the Resistance missiles which are quick to fall on Tamar or Leviathan, on Ashkeon or Ashdod, whenever they want. Isn't Morocco this ideal client that the entity would seek on the ruins of its dreams of becoming a Mediterranean gas exporter? Rai al Youm devotes an article to it.

"In the diplomatic conflict between Morocco and Algeria, the latter decided to use gas weapons. On August 26, following a meeting with Ambassador Fernando Morán regarding gas deliveries Algerian to Spain, the Minister of Energy Mohamed Arkab affirmed Algeria's intention to use only the Medgaz gas pipeline, directly connecting the Beni Saf installations (110 km west of Oran) to those of Almeria (southwestern tip of Andalusia).

If we are to believe the Minister of Energy, the government of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune therefore intends to put an end to Algerian participation in the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, also starting from Algeria, but which passes through the kingdom before joining Cordoba. Until now, Moroccans received from Algerians a "right of way" on this gas pipeline, paid for in delivery of natural gas under a trinational agreement dating from 1991, and the renewal of which must take place before the end of October 2021.

“Algeria exported 9 billion cubic feet to Spain in 2020, and up to 17 billion cubic feet annually before. We estimate that 60% of these volumes were exported through Medgaz, and 40% via Maghreb-Europe, therefore via Morocco, ”said analyst Pravi Joshi, responsible for North Africa at specialist Rystad Energy.

Still according to the Rystad Energy expert, Morocco produces around 12% of its electricity from Algerian gas. A lower proportion than in 2017, when it was around 17%, but which remains high enough to endanger Moroccan electricity production.

All these developments are taking place as Israel is always looking for new markets for the gas extracted from its fields off the Mediterranean, far from its markets in Jordan and Egypt. It is not excluded that Tel Aviv will propose to Rabat to sign an agreement to supply the latter with natural gas to meet the needs of its markets, replacing Algerian gas.

On December 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which had been suspended in 2000. Energy relations between the two parties could extend until the restart of the Moroccan-Spanish gas pipeline, for also supply Madrid and neighboring markets with Israeli gas. Tel Aviv will not wait long for the pipeline to be built from its land or from Egypt to the European mainland via Cyprus, Greece and Italy, and may find temporary markets exploiting the growing relationship with Rabat.

It is undoubtedly in this sense that the Algerian MFA insisted on denouncing Israel, its plans, its aggressions and especially its low blows against Algeria, Palestine and Syria.

In this regard, the Algerian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its firm position on support for Palestine and its opposition to foreign intervention in Syria and Libya.

The Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement that the Algerian MFA, Ramtane Lamamra had visited Cairo to attend a regular meeting of the Arab League at the level of foreign ministers.

The press release indicates that Algeria underlines during the meeting that it is based on common Arab action based on new principles and dimensions that meet current needs.

According to the Raialyoum newspaper, the statement said that political issues and developments in Palestine, Syria, Libya and Yemen, as well as the fight against terrorism and the liberation of the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction, are at stake. 'Agenda of the meeting. Algeria participates in the meeting to reiterate its firm position on Arab issues, in particular its support for the Palestinian and its rejection of any foreign intervention in the region.

This is the 156th session of the Arab League Council, chaired by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmed Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah.

In this context, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra met his Kuwaiti counterpart on Wednesday to discuss international and regional issues.