Cohen Touts Israel Oil Route to Bypass Hormuz
Published
Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Gulf oil exporters could reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea routes by moving crude through a land corridor to Israel and onward to Europe. He said a safe route would connect Saudi Arabia to Eilat, use Israel's existing Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, and ship from the Mediterranean to European markets, while additional infrastructure and regional consent would still be needed. Current and earlier reports describe variants of the plan, including Saudi, Jordanian, Eilat, Ashkelon and Haifa routes, with one account putting the corridor at about $10 billion. Cohen framed the idea as a strategic answer to Iranian and Houthi pressure on maritime trade, strengthening Israel's role as an energy bridge between the Gulf and Europe.
Sources
Difference in reporting
Sources factually diverge on route, cost and stage: JPost's Reuters pickup says Cohen proposed a 700-kilometer Saudi-to-Eilat link using the existing Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline; Crypto Briefing describes a roughly $10 billion corridor through Jordan; Channel 14 and Bhol describe Saudi, UAE, Haifa or broader Gulf-to-Israel variants from earlier reporting. The uniform facts are that Cohen is promoting Israel as a land route for Gulf oil to Europe, the plan is meant to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping, and existing Israeli pipeline infrastructure is central to the concept.
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