CAIRO: Israel's electricity company said it will sue Egypt over the cutting of natural gas exports to the country for more than 200 days this year, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported. The announcement comes as a 6th attack on Egypt's pipeline to Israel was attacked on Tuesday morning, leaving more tension between the two countries as gas to Israel, Jordan and Lebanon is likely to face more shortages. According to the Haaretz report, Israel's national electricity company will file a lawsuit against Egypt's East Mediterranean Gas Company, asking for financial compensation for losses incurred, which could be as high as $8 billion. The stoppage pushed the company to use substitute fuels that cause pollution and drove up electricity prices by 10 percent, the company was reported to have said. Egyptian gas stopped flowing into Tel Aviv after four explosions damaged Egyptian gas pipelines transporting gas to Israel. Egypt and Israel have been facing their most tenuous period since signing a peace treaty in 1979. Last month, following an attack on Israel's port town of Eilat that left 8 people dead, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked Egyptian soldiers and border police, leaving 6 dead. The result led to massive protests at Israel's embassy in Egypt, which culminated in the storming of a lower level of the embassy. Activists tossed documents from the windows as people celebrated on the street. Egypt's acting Prime Minister Essam Sharaf told Turkish media earlier this month that the peace treaty with Israel was “not sacred,” leading Tel Aviv to summon the Egyptian ambassador for an explanation. BM
