Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have begun reconsidering the agreement to transfer oil from the UAE to Israel via the oil pipeline extending from Eilat on the Red Sea to Ashdod on the Mediterranean.
The agreement sparked outrage from environmental associations in Israel, who warned of its dangers to the environment in the Red Sea and coral reefs.
Haaretz newspaper said that a professional team comprising representatives from several ministries will meet soon to take a position on the agreement and formulate the position of the new government to present it to the Supreme Court.
The newspaper quoted Energy Minister Karen Al-Harrar as saying that the agreement signed with the UAE is of no use to the energy field in Israel, and that its cancellation would not cause any harm.
The agreement was signed in October 2020 by the previous government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Bloomberg reported that Environmental Affairs Minister Tamar Zandberg also opposed the deal, saying it could lead to significant environmental damage.
Environmental groups have already challenged the deal in the courts, saying it was approved without permission from the previous government.
The deal was seen as a big win for the year-old normalization agreement between the two countries, the first between Israel and a Gulf state.
The Israeli government company "Europe Asia Pipeline" and the UAE-Israeli company "Mid Red Land Bridge" signed a memorandum of understanding to ship oil from the UAE to Europe and Asia via a pipeline linking two coastal cities in Israel, one on the Red Sea and the other on the Mediterranean.
The pipeline would allow the UAE to reduce the use of the more expensive and time-consuming Suez Canal route.