Several days after Israel signed a deal fixing its maritime border with Lebanon and hours after Prime Minister Yair Lapid conducted a security tour of the Karish offshore gas platform, a new report shines a light on an influential figure who put pressured members of the government to vote for the deal.
Channel 13 News is reporting that over recent weeks, Hillel Koverinsky, who holds no official government position but is a senior member of Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party, spoke with members of the government and attempted to convince them of the agreement's importance.
According to sources within the government, Koverinsky, who is Lapid's campaign manager, attempted to sway members of the government, including ones from other parties, to vote for the agreement, as part of the election campaign.
What adds an extra layer to the story is the fact that Koverinsky's sister is a senior deputy CEO for Durad, an energy company that has signed a deal with Energean to purchase billions of dollars worth of natural gas that is to pumped from the Karish platform on the border of Lebanon. Prime Minister Lapid himself has openly remarked that the signing of the deal would allow Karish to begin producing gas.
Yesh Atid commented on the report: "These are lies that are completely disconnected from reality. The agreement with Lebanon has nothing to do with Karish's production of gas. In short, the report is incorrect." Hillel Koverinsky's lawyer stated: "He was not at all involved in the deliberations regarding the agreement, he only assisted in briefing the media. The deal between Durad and Energean was signed in 2017, and Koverinsky's sister was not involved in it."
As reported earlier, Prime Minister Yair Lapid conducted a security tour of the Karish offshore gas platform Sunday, just days after Israel signed a deal fixing its maritime border with Lebanon.
The Prime Minister received an overview of the gas production process which began last Wednesday from Energean Israel CEO Shaul Tzemach. He later visited the control room and spoke with the company’s Israeli workers, and went up to the observation point overlooking the platform and the area.
Prime Minister Lapid reiterated that the agreement, like continuing gas production from the Karish platform, will ensure economic stability and energy security for the State of Israel for many years to come, and will contribute greatly to lowering the cost of living.
“This place here is the energy and economic future of the State of Israel. Gas production from the Karish field will lower energy prices in Israel, turn Israel into a regional energy supplier, and help Europe take on its energy crisis. From here flows the gas that promises a lower cost of living. This is a huge achievement for the State of Israel.”