This short essay explains the true causes behind the conflict of the once close allies of Turkey and Israel. It turns out that as it is usually the case, the true reason for this conflict is oil and natural gas.
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The Causes Behind the Conflict Between Turkey and Israel
1. The Causes Behind the Conflict
Between Turkey and Israel
Iakovos Alhadeff
Copyright 2014 by Iakovos Alhadeff
Published by Iakovos Alhadeff at Smashwords
3. Introduction
I always found the conflict between Turkey and Israel strange, since the two countries
had a long tradition of smooth commercial and military cooperation. And yet it seems
now that Israel is perceived by Recep Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, as his
country’s major enemy.
What happened? It was only in 2005, as you can see in paragraph “After AKP
Ascendancy” of the following Wikipedia link, that Recep Erdogan, during his visit in
Israel, informed the nationalist Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, that the Iranian
nuclear program was not only a threat for Israel, but instead a threat for the whole world.
Is it possible for someone to say something that will please the Israelis more than that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
%E2%80%93Turkey_relations#After_AKP_ascendancy
Moreover, as you can read in the same paragraph, during his staying in Israel, Recep
Erdogan, paid a visit to the Holocaust Museum, and said that for his party, anti-Semitism
was a crime against humanity, and also that the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs said
that the relations between Israel and Turkey were perfect. So what changed so
dramatically, and today Turkey is with Iran and Qatar the major supporters of the terrorist
organization Hamas, which is the organization that launches rockets from Gaza to Israel?
As always the explanation is oil and natural gas.
Israel-Greece-Cyprus
The first reason is the vast resources of natural gas that exist in the sea area between
Cyprus and Israel, which you can see at the following Wikipedia map with green and
orange. The vast area above the green country (Cyprus) is Turkey.
Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, have long disputes about their Exclusive Economic Zones
(EEZ), since the latter determines who has what claims on the areas energy riches. And
Turkey does not recognize the EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, since doing that would allow
the two countries to exploit the region’s natural gas. Israel however, did recognize the
Greek and Cypriot EEZ, as you can see at the following Wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_economic_zone#Greece
4. Recognizing the Greek EEZ was a major blow in the Turkish-Israeli relations. Moreover,
since Turkey was threatening Greece and Cyprus that it would retaliate in case they
unilaterally declared their EEZ without Turkey’s approval, Greece, Cyprus and Israel
formed a militarily coalition against Turkey. At the following Wikipedia link, at section
Military Cooperation, you can read about the Greek-Israeli military cooperation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece%E2%80%93Israel_relations#Military_collaboration
In 2008 the first Greek-Israeli military exercise took place, under the code name Glorious
Spartan. The second military exercise between the two countries, with code name Minoas
2010, was scheduled for the 26th
of May 2010, and was supposed to last until the 3rd
of
June. The exercise started on the 26th
as scheduled. However on the 31st
of May 2010, in
order to take revenge from Israel, Erdogan launched the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a flotilla
of 6 ships, with the ship Mavi Marmara on the lead. Supposedly the aim of the flotilla
was to break the embargo imposed by the Israelis on Gaza’s port.
However Erdogan was fully aware that there was no chance that the Israelis would allow
that. If the Israelis were to do so, Hamas would not have to struggle in order to smuggle
Iranian and Qatari rockets and weapons from Egypt to Gaza. They could simply use
harbor cranes to unload them from big ships. Therefore there was not even the slightest
chance of success, and Erdogan knew that very well. What Erdogan was hoping for, was
that the Israelis would respond with violence to the attacks of the terrorists against its
soldiers, when the latter would attempt to seize the ships, and use this blood to isolate
Israel diplomatically. And that’s exactly what happened.
Following the Mavi Marmara incident, the Greek government had to withdraw its
military forces from the common exercise with the Israelis, ending the exercise on the
31st
of May instead of the 3rd
of June as scheduled. However this incident only
temporarily terminated the Greek Israeli military cooperation. I must mention that Greek
journalists were very pro Erdogan and anti Israel during the Mavi Marmara crisis, since
most of them work for Greek businessmen who have very close ties with the Arabs, and
therefore their interests are not always in tandem with national strategy.
I mean that at a time when the Greek Army was conducting a military exercise with the
Israelis, and the Israelis had recognized the Greek Exclusive Economic Zone, and while
Greece had joined a common defense doctrine with Israel against Turkey, Erdogan was
attacking Israel to retaliate, and the Greek reporters were supporting Erdogan. You can
read about what I say in the following link of the Research Institute of European and
American Studies.
http://www.rieas.gr/research-areas/greek-israel-studies/2077-greek-israeli-cyprus-
military-and-security-relations-a-preview-.html
5. Turkey-Qatar
The second cause of the Turkish Israeli conflict is the natural gas and oil of the Persian
Gulf. As I was explaining in great detail in my essay “The Energy War Between U.S.A.
and Russia”, there is a great fight in the Middle East between the Shiites regimes of Iran,
Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and the Sunni regimes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. and
Turkey. The cause of the conflict is that both the Shiites and the Sunnis want to send
Persian Gulf energy to Europe and East Asia with their own pipeline networks.
Before the ISIS or ISIL attacks (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq
and Levant or simply Islamic State), Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon were controlled by
Shiites(or Shia). These regimes wanted to send energy to Europe, following the route
Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon-Europe. You can read about the Iran-Iraq-Syria or the Shiite
pipeline at the following Wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Iraq-Syria_pipeline
You can see at the following Wikipedia map the route they would follow.
Please not that Syria is controlled by Assad, who is an Alawite. Alawites are a branch of
Shiite Islam, as you can read in the first few sentences of the following Wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alawites
On the other hand, Sunni regimes i.e. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, and Turkey,
want to build their own pipeline network, in order to send their energy to Europe,
following the route Qatar-Saudi Arabia-Iraq-Syria-Turkey-Europe. You can read for the
Qatar-Turkey pipeline at the following Wikipedia link.
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar-Turkey_pipeline
As you can see at the map, if Iraq and Syria are controlled by the Shiites, the Sunni
pipeline is blocked. That’s the cause of the war in the region. Therefore Turkey’s
interests are closely linked to Qatar’s interests, since the Qatar-Turkey pipeline will
increase dramatically Turkey’s geopolitical significance as an international energy hub,
and it will generate lot’s of revenues in hard currencies. But Qatar is one of Israel’s lethal
enemies, and the major supporter of the terrorist organization Hamas, which launches
rockets to Israel.
Therefore the Sunni pipelines in the Middle East bring Turkey and Qatar much closer,
and the energy triangle between Greece-Cyprus and Israel, move Israel and Turkey
further apart. As it is most of the time the case, energy is the reason that Israel and
Turkey, once a strong alliance, are now standing so far away.
You can read more about the Pipeline war between the Sunnis and the Shiites at the
following link. “The Energy War Between U.S.A. and Russia”.
http://iakal.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/the-energy-war-between-u-s-a-and-russia-and-the-
threat-for-israels-survival/
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar-Turkey_pipeline
As you can see at the map, if Iraq and Syria are controlled by the Shiites, the Sunni
pipeline is blocked. That’s the cause of the war in the region. Therefore Turkey’s
interests are closely linked to Qatar’s interests, since the Qatar-Turkey pipeline will
increase dramatically Turkey’s geopolitical significance as an international energy hub,
and it will generate lot’s of revenues in hard currencies. But Qatar is one of Israel’s lethal
enemies, and the major supporter of the terrorist organization Hamas, which launches
rockets to Israel.
Therefore the Sunni pipelines in the Middle East bring Turkey and Qatar much closer,
and the energy triangle between Greece-Cyprus and Israel, move Israel and Turkey
further apart. As it is most of the time the case, energy is the reason that Israel and
Turkey, once a strong alliance, are now standing so far away.
You can read more about the Pipeline war between the Sunnis and the Shiites at the
following link. “The Energy War Between U.S.A. and Russia”.
http://iakal.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/the-energy-war-between-u-s-a-and-russia-and-the-
threat-for-israels-survival/
