A seminar held on the sidelines of Cairo International Book Fair has warned of the grave consequences of an Israeli project linking the Dead Sea with the Red Sea.
The seminar was discussing Gamal Fathy Abdel Hamid’s book, “The Two Seas Canal.” Abdel Hamid said his book is focused on the project Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian authority is seeking to implement, linking the two seas, arguing that the undertaking seeks to “deal a deadly blow to Egypt’s water security and challenge the New Suez Canal Project, the most outstanding undertaking championed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government.
The 12-km canal would include major water-lifting stations and power generators that would benefit the three countries, said Abdel Hamid.
Among other things, the agreement between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, signed in Washington in December 2013, is designed to secure nearly 100 million cubic meters of water to the Dead Sea in a bid to evade natural consequences from its dwindling water levels.
Speaking at the seminar, former irrigation minister Mahmoud Abu Zeid, argued the project is mainly aimed at undermining the Suez Canal and development projects at the Sinai Peninsula, warning that Egypt’s water security is increasingly threatened, especially with works ongoing at Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam.
However, Hossam Abdel Karim, head of the research department at the Suez Canal Authority, said there was no danger from the canal, deeming the project a failure if compared to Egypt’s Suez Canal. “We are always one step ahead of Israel,” he argued.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
