Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., November 26, 2009 Kislev 9, 5770 | | Israel Time: 12:21 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Last update - 00:00 31/03/2003
Infrastructure Minister Paritzky dreams of Iraqi oil flowing to Haifa
By Akiva Eldar

National Infrastructures Minister Joseph Paritzky has requested an assessment of the condition of the old oil pipeline from Mosul to Haifa, with an eye toward renewing the flow of oil in the event of friendly post-war regime in Iraq.

Paritzky explained to Haaretz yesterday that resurrecting the pipeline to Haifa could save Israel the high cost of shipping oil from Russia. He is certain that the Americans would respond favorably to the idea, since the pipeline would bring Iraqi oil directly to the Mediterranean.

The flow of oil from Mosul was redirected from Haifa to Syria after the British Mandate for Palestine expired in 1948. There were several attempts to renew the flow of oil to Haifa in subsequent years. One such effort occurred during the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s, after Syria acceded to a request from Iran to block the flow of Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean. (Iran was then preventing oil tankers from moving Iraqi oil via the Persian Gulf.) The prime minister at the time, Yitzhak Shamir, proposed to Iraq to renew the flow of oil through the pipeline to Haifa.

Hanan Bar-On, then the deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry, confirmed yesterday that Israel was involved in talks during the mid-1980s on a plan for an Iraq-Jordanian pipeline to the Red Sea port of Aqaba. Among the participants in these talks was Donald Rumsfeld, then an adviser to U.S. president Reagan and currently secretary of defense. The American corporation Bechtel was slated to build the pipeline. According to the deal, which eventually fell through, Israel was to receive about $100 million a year via former Israeli businessman Bruce Rappaport in return for a commitment not to oppose the construction or operation of the new pipeline.

In 1987, energy minister Moshe Shahal reportedly looked into the idea of helping Iraq export its oil via the Golan Heights to Haifa. But this plan also failed to materialize.

Bar-On recalled that during the same period, the possibility of laying a pipeline along the Jordan Valley and Arava, and then along the Egyptian border to the Mediterranean. "We wanted to ensure the economic interests of the Iraqis, Jordanians, and Egyptians in order to create motivation to preserve the stability in the region and as a foundation for peaceful relations.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Settlement freeze
Netanyahu declares 10-month settlement freeze in a bid to restart stalled peace talks.
'Kick a Jew Day'
Florida students suspended for taking part in the 'South Park' TV show inspired day.
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Award-Winning 'Obsession'
Watch 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West' Online FOR FREE!
Protea Hills
A Retirement Village in Nature Nestled in the Foothills of Jerusalem
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
 Haaretz Hot Topics
Iran elections
Obama speech in Cairo
The Pope in the Holy Land
Durban II conference
Israel vs. Hamas
More Headlines
11:26 Report: Israel will release Barghouti in Shalit deal
12:02 Barak: I believe settlement halt will lead to renewed PA peace talks
08:07 Not enough manpower to implement settlement freeze, cabinet told
09:25 'Settlement freeze' won't bring about peace
09:50 Why can we talk to Hamas about Shalit, but not peace?
11:12 Israel must prove Shalit deal is worth the price
09:19 South Africa: Israel actions in East Jerusalem akin to apartheid
22:21 TV ROUND-UP: Netanyahu declares 10-month settlement freeze
10:11 Israeli doctors in Romania egg-trafficking probe to return home
12:20 Report: Lebanese man charged with spying for Israel
11:00 Justice Minister taps Yehuda Weinstein as next attorney general
08:24 Chavez brands Israel a 'murderous arm of the Yankee empire'
09:21 Was Swede who abandoned his family a secret Mossad agent?
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved