-Analysis-
GAZA CITY — On the land of the Gaza Strip, there is nothing but destroyed homes, countless tons of rubble, razed agricultural fields and zero economic production. This is the view in the aftermath of 15 months of war. These are matters that are of no concern to Donald Trump.
The eyes of the U.S. President, instead, are focused on the sea — and the untapped economic wealth it conceals below, within the vast potential of buried gas fields.
Trump suddenly appears quite interested in Gaza, a small area devastated by the Israeli war. Every time he has spoken about it in the past two weeks, he describes Gaza as an economic deal, speaking about it in the same manner he talks about Canada, with its vast landmass and Greenland, the world’s largest island.
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In a report published by The Wall Street Journal on February 5, American sources revealed that Trump described Gaza in a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “prime real estate,” urging him to consider the types of hotels and resorts that could be built there. He has since repeatedly spoken about expelling the Palestinian population from Gaza to make way for his vision of a new “Riviera” tourist destination.
But there is another deal Trump has in mind. In the waters off of Gaza are untapped gas fields, which may interest the U.S. president even more than hotels and beaches. The “Gaza Marine” field in the Eastern Mediterranean, discovered by British Petroleum in 1999, is located 36 kilometers west of the Gazan coast, spaning an area exceeding 1,000 square kilometers, according to official Palestinian figures.
Gas fields
According to data from the Palestine Investment Fund, the economic arm of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the gas reserves in the “Gaza Marine” field are estimated at 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, approximately 31 billion cubic meters. This field could contribute to achieving energy self-sufficiency, reducing reliance on imported energy sources, with development costs estimated at around .4 billion.
The gas field has remained unexploited 22 years after its discovery, despite being the first field discovered in this part of the Mediterranean, preceding the Egyptian and Israeli gas fields and prompting Eastern Mediterranean countries to intensify exploration activities.
In 1999, the Palestinian Authority granted British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), a 90% share license for natural gas exploration off Gaza’s coast, approved by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The project’s shares were later adjusted, giving CCC the option to increase its stake by 30%, making British Gas’ share 60% and CCC’s 40%.
Economic boost
Under the license agreement granted by the Palestinian Authority, the company conducted seismic surveys and drilled two wells in early 2000 to locate natural gas resources, leading to the discovery of the “Gaza Marine” field at a depth of 603 meters below sea level, 22 miles west of Gaza.
This discovery gave hope to Palestinians for substantial sources of income, a significant boost to the Palestinian economy, additional government revenue and the creation of numerous job opportunities.
Near the “Gaza Marine” field is another field, “Marine 2,” smaller in size, with estimated gas reserves of about 3 billion cubic meters.
Alongside “Gaza Marine” and “Marine 2,” Israel discovered the “Mari-B” field in 2000, with the help of the American company Noble Energy. This field was one of the key sources of gas supply to the Israeli energy market at the time, though intensive production led to its rapid depletion.
0 million
Economist Mohamed Maqdad has estimated that Palestinian gas revenues could exceed 0 million annually, “meaning that the Gaza Strip would no longer need international aid.”
Gaza’s gas is not the only untapped resource in the Eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) previously revealed, in two studies on undiscovered gas and oil resources in the region, the presence of two basins: the Levant Basin and the Nile Delta Basin. These studies included estimates of the extractable natural resources within them.
Egypt, one of the Eastern Mediterranean countries bordering Gaza, has gas reserves estimated at around 300 trillion cubic feet, according to the Egyptian State Information Service.
Massive reserves
Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University, agrees that the untapped gas fields in Gaza’s waters are one of the reasons behind U.S. policies, especially given their enormous reserves.
“Gas fields may be a secondary factor behind Trump’s remarks, rather than the primary one, particularly since the West Bank does not have gas fields, yet there are still plans to displace Palestinians from there,” Nafaa told “Daraj. “Yes, the main cause of the conflict is strategic and geopolitical factors, along with Israel’s longstanding ambitions to establish a greater Israel in the region by annexing large parts of neighboring Arab states.”
But Nafaa explained that Trump’s statements about displacing Palestinians from Gaza are “a prelude to displacing the West Bank’s population as well, demonstrating that the American president is more committed to the Zionist project than Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu himself, which is why his statements should be taken seriously.”
Nafaa believes that Trump’s plans are unfeasible given the remarkable Palestinian determination to fight for their land and remain in Palestine until death. “This steadfastness,” he said, “is the primary barrier against all American-Israeli displacement schemes.”