TEL Aviv _ Agencies
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan to extend the gas pipeline between Israel and Europe "will turn Israel into a super gas-state."
At the beginning of the weekly meeting of the Israeli Government, Netanyahu said that the fifth Summit with Greece and Cyprus will be held this week at the headquarters of the Saiber National Authority in Be´er Sheva.
"We will sign agreements in the field of cyber and technology protection and we will push forward the plan to put a gas pipeline between Israel and Europe," he added, according to his official page on the Facebook site.
"I hope that this plan will be implemented because it will transform Israel into a major gas-state, not only regionally but also globally," he said.
"This will be another expression of Israel´s diplomatic prosperity, which has reached an unprecedented climax," he said.
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steintes said last month that Israel had reached an agreement with Greece, Cyprus and Italy to build a pipeline costing six billion euros (2.6 billion dollars) to transport gas from Israel to the three countries. According to Israeli reports, the four countries are scheduled to sign an agreement on the project by the beginning of the next February (February).
The line is scheduled to transport natural gas from offshore fields off the coast of Israel to Cyprus, and then via the Greek mainland to Italy.
"If things go as planned, we expect Israel to become one of the largest suppliers of energy to Europe by 2025/2024," said the Israeli minister.
