Egypt’s prosecutor orders the country’s ex-energy ministers detained for questioning over a controversial gas deal with Israel under the rule of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

The Egyptian public prosecutor on Thursday issued the arrest warrants against former Energy Minister Sameh Fahmy and two of his predecessors, Reuters reported.

Israel gets 40 percent of its natural gas from Egypt, under an arrangement put in place after a 1979 US-pushed ‘peace’ deal.

Four Israeli firms have signed agreements to import Egyptian natural gas under a 20-year contract.

The deal has been repeatedly challenged in Egyptian courts as it was signed without a parliamentary consultation and approval.

Opposition groups have long complained that Egyptian gas was sold to Israel at below-market prices.

Egyptian chief prosecutor earlier said he possessed evidence that Mubarak and Fahmy had sold natural gas to the Israeli regime and several Western countries at below-market rates.

(Press TV)