The Parliamentary Finance Committee today continued its discussion on the future of the Palestine Potash Company, whose Dead Sea mineral concession was originally granted by the Mandatory regime and has not yet been reaffirmed by the Israel Government.
The committee also touched on the situation of the British-owned Consolidated Oil Refineries at Haifa which have been closed almost continuously since the proclamation of the Jewish state and the Arab boycott on pipeline oil shipments to the Israel port. Finance Minister Eliezer Kaplan asked the committee to postpone consideration of action on the refineries pending receipt of a still incomplete report by a group of experts.
The report, which is expected within the next few weeks, deals with a plan for construction, by Israel, of an oil pipeline from the Aqaba port of Eilath, at the head of the Red Sea, to Haifa. The pipeline would run entirely through Israel territory, it was announced here last night.
The announcement said that the pipeline could be built in several months at a relatively low cost, and would be economical to run. However, it added that Israel preferred to await the results of renewed British efforts to induce Iraq to reopen the Kirkuk-Haifa pipeline.
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