Israeli PM criticizes top court ruling against gas deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized on Sunday the Supreme Court's overturning of the government's landmark gas deal for developing the natural gas fields offshore Israel.

Netanyahu fumed at the decision, slamming it as a "severe damage" to the economy. In a statement issued on his behalf, he charged it "threatens the development of the gas reserves of the State of Israel."

The prime minister also criticized the "excessive interference" of the judicial system, which creates an unfriendly environment for businesses, he said.

His remarks came a few hours after Israel's top court struck down the deal, which was signed last year with Texas-based Noble Energy and Israel-based Delek Group to exploit the country's two major gas fields.

A panel of five justices said that a key component in the agreement that prevented it from being changed in the next decade was "unconstitutional."

The government will seek other ways to bypass the ruling, Netanyahu said.

The decision marks a major setback to Netanyahu's gas policy.

The gas deal has been occupying a central place of his agenda. In an unprecedented move, he appeared before the Supreme Court during the discussions last months, in an attempt to persuade the judges not to reject several petition by social organizations and parliament members against the deal.

In December 2015, after years of political infightings, the government signed the long-awaited agreement allowing Noble and Delek to develop the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields while forcing them to sell two minor fields.

Leviathan is a gigantic 622 billion cubic meter gas reservoir that was found off Israel's Mediterranean coast in 2010. Gas production at the site has yet to be started.

Gas production in Tamar, a nearby smaller gas field, kicked off in March 2013. Endit