Israel's TA-25 stock index is trading up 2.47%, at 682.89, mainly due to the unilateral ceasefire declared by Israel in the Gaza Strip and a large discovery of natural gas off of Israel's shore, analysts said Sunday.

Commercial quantities of natural gas were discovered off of Haifa by Noble Energy Inc. (NBL), and its Israeli partners, Delek Group Ltd (DLEKG.TV), Isramco Ltd. and Avner Oil Exploration LP (AVNR.L.TV).

The gas discovery is pushing the entire market up "because it's good for the entire economy," and could lead to Israel reducing its dependency on Egypt for natural gas, says Yoav Burgan, analyst at Leader & Co. in Tel Aviv.

Most shares on the TA-25 were up, with Africa Israel Investments Ltd (AFIL.TV) gaining 5.8%, Israel Corp. Ltd (ILCO.TV) up 6.1% and Paz Oil Co. Ltd (PZOL.TV), up 5.3%. Meanwhile, on the TA-100 exchange, companies involved in the gas discovery rose significantly; Delek Group +37.8%, Delek Drilling LP (DEDR.L.TV) up 61.9%, Isramco up 159% and Avner up 47%.

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