Israel blamed for power cuts in Egypt

CAIRO, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Protesters in parts of Egypt pointed to natural gas exports to Israel as the reason for blackouts in their country, an opposition group said.

Cairo said it was imposing blackouts during the warmest part of the year to prevent the electrical grid from collapsing. An energy council led by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said the blackouts would continue during the heat wave but would last only a few hours at a stretch.

Protesters across Egypt lit candles in protest of Egyptian natural gas exports to Israel saying an agreement selling gas to Jerusalem was the main cause of the lack of electricity in their country.

Demonstrators in a letter to the Muslim Brotherhood's Web site Ikhwanweb said the reason for the protest was to highlight the level of corruption in Cairo, adding lawmakers were ignoring the plight of common Egyptians.

Lawmakers earlier this year complained about a subsidized deal between East Mediterranean Gas and three Israeli companies for natural gas over the next 18 years.

Last week, three Egyptian nationals filed a lawsuit calling on President Hosni Mubarak to dismiss Electricity Minister Hassan Younis for failing to address the problem.

Cairo blames a lack of funding for the blackouts.