US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, has been trying to persuade Knesset members of the opposition Joint List to abstain or absent themselves from a Knesset vote advancing a controversial plan to develop Israel’s natural gas reserves, Haaretz and “Kol Israel” (Israel Radio) reported Tuesday.

A “yes” vote would allow the cabinet to implement its agreement with Israel’s Delek Group and Noble Energy of the US to develop the massive Leviathan gas field, some 130 kilometers off the Haifa coast. Shapiro reportedly wants Joint List lawmakers opposed to the deal – which would grant exclusive development rights of the field to Noble and Delek – to withhold their “no” vote, either by abstaining or by not participating in the vote altogether. The ambassador discussed the vote with Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, on Monday, “Kol Israel”said.