A part of a gas pipeline is seen on fire near the northern city of al-Arish (Photo: Reuters)
North Sinai Governor Abdel-Wehab Mabrouk branded today’s attack on a pipeline supplying gas to Israel and Jordan an "act of sabotage" that didn’t claim lives.
Unknown saboteurs blew up the pipeline that runs through North Sinai at the crack of dawn, an incident that is widely expected to escalate tensions between Egypt and Israel.
Major General Mabrouk said shortly after the bombing: “It’s an act of sabotage that didn’t result in any casualties.
“The fire that followed the explosion is nearly put out as experts sealed valves that control the flow of the gas.”
Military forces are now securing the pipeline.
An earlier attack on the same pipeline, located south of El-Arish town, was staged on 5 February during an 18-day revolt that forced Hosni Mubarak from power on 11 February.
Egypt’s bilateral relations with Israel have been suspended in the air since the overthrow of Mubarak, who was backed by the Israeli government during the January 25 Revolution.
A recent poll conducted by Pew Research Center showed that 54 per cent of the Egyptian population wants to see the peace treaty between both countries terminated.
Israel gets 40 per cent of its natural gas from Egypt, a deal built on their landmark 1979 peace accord.
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