Caption Ramallah – Arabstoday Maher Ghoneim, the Palestinian Authority Minister of State for Wall and Settlement Affairs, revealed on Tuesday: “Israel has begun to extract oil and gas from Rantis, in the vicinity of Ramallah, from a well called Majd 5. The mining operations started back in 1992.”
The minister accused Israel of being reluctant to disclose the exploration going on in the area.
Ghoneim said most of the Majd 5 well reserves were located under occupied Palestinian lands, and that Israel had intensified its operations along the Green line between Qalqilya and Ramallah.
The minister said Israel wanted to \"steal the natural resources of oil and gas along the Green Line, and the more the excavations extend to the east side of Rantis, the more the well’s wealth is revealed.”
Ghoneim also claimed Israel had started selling the products. He added: “The information available on the well was collected in cooperation with international bodies. We are working on obtaining the necessary data in order to restore Palestinian rights.\"