Last month, Greece placed its military on high alert when a Turkish research vessel, accompanied by warships, entered waters Athens claims as its own—a sign of heightening tensions over the eastern Mediterranean and the oil and gas reserves that might lie beneath it. Meanwhile, Ankara’s intervention in Libya has pitted its forces against those backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Yaakov Amidror examines President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s belligerence, and what it might mean for Israel:
[Turkey] hosts senior Hamas operatives and allows them to plot terrorist attacks against Israel from Istanbul. It sent troops to Qatar after Doha was accused of supporting terrorism by Arab countries and blockaded. It attacked Kurds in Syria who helped the United States fight Islamic State. And it threatened to cut ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the recently announced peace deal with Israel—even though Turkey has an embassy in Tel Aviv.
Aside from a recent statement in support of Greece, Israel has so far not been involved in either [the Turkish intervention in Libya or its maritime dispute with Athens and Nicosia]. Libya is far from Israel, and Turkey does not threaten to infringe on Israel’s exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean. Turkey’s claims overlap those of Greece and Cyprus. The friction between Israel and Turkey these days concerns Ankara’s support for Hamas, as well as its efforts to gain influence among Palestinians by investing in eastern Jerusalem.
However, Israel has clear plans to connect to Europe via a gas pipeline and power cable that are supposed to pass through Cyprus. Will Turkey try to interfere with these projects, on the basis [of its most recent claims of maritime rights]? That would be a Turkish invitation to a military confrontation with Israel, which will not hesitate to defend its vital interests in the Mediterranean.
Read more on National Interest: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/power-hungry-turkey-may-push-eastern-mediterranean-armed-conflict-168266