Thousands of Israelis take to the streets against gas deal

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demonstrate against a gas deal they say will create a monopoly for a consortium that includes US company Noble Energy.

The demonstrators denounced the deal and claim that Israel had "gifted" the consortium.

Similar gatherings were also held in other parts of Israel, including Beersheba in the south.

Critics of the gas deal say authorities would hand Noble and its Israeli partner Delek an effective monopoly over the state's natural gas reserves.

A major deal to exploit offshore gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has been stuck for almost a year due to the objection of the anti-trust authority and former minister Deri's refusal to overrule it.

The agreement still needs clearance from the parliament's economics committee, although its role is only advisory.

Israel's economy minister resigned on 1 November, opening the way for the government to greenlight a multibillion dollar gas deal with US energy giant Noble Energy, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

After that, opponents are planning to challenge the legality of the deal in the supreme court, according to reports.

Israel has been trying to extract offshore gas since the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan fields in 2009 and 2010.

While extraction has begun in Tamar, the far larger Leviathan has been hit by a series of bureaucratic delays.