Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon has told Channel 2's Dana Weiss, "The natural gas roadmap cannot be passed, it will be changed. Every monopoly has to be broken up, Israel's citizens deserve more and should enjoy this natural resource."
Speaking about price supervision of natural gas he said, "Supervision is something problematic but if there is no competition then we'll need supervision."
Before the elections, Kahlon said that he would handle the gas issue despite his friendship with Koby Maimon, who owns Isramco Ltd. (Nasdaq: ISRL; TASE: ISRA.L), one of the partners in the Tamar gas field. But after the elections, Kahlon recused himself over the issue before of a conflict of interests stemming from that friendship.
Kahlon said, "I know that I've disappointed some people. I regret the matter. But I'm not a person who says one thing and does something else."
He added, "I've given my party the freedom to vote how they want on the matter. But I see that Avi Gabbay (Kulanu's Minister of Environmental Protection) voted against. When people come to teach me what a monopoly is, I remind them that I'm the only one fighting against it and I will continue to struggle against it."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 8, 2015
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