Israel says offshore gas secure after Turk challenge

[ProgressiveProfessor]

HERZLIYA, Israel: Israel will develop and defend gas platforms recently discovered in its waters, Energy Minister Uzi Landau said on Sunday after Turkey vowed to boost naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean in a deepening diplomatic feud.

"Israel can support and secure the rigs that we are going to have in the Mediterranean," Landau told a security conference when asked if Israel would safeguard the gas platforms after the warship challenge floated last week by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "That's the simple answer that I can give," Landau said.

Erdogan has said Turkey will make its presence felt in the eastern Mediterranean at a time when Israel is looking to exploit recently discovered gas fields off its coasts and partner with Cyprus to build energy facilities.
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Turkey, which does not recognize Cyprus's Greek Cypriot government, has bitterly complained about recent Cypriot-Israeli energy deals. Lebanon has accused Israel of breaking international law by exploring for gas without an agreement on the maritime border between the two countries, which are formally at war.

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Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2011/Sep-11/148479-israel-says-offshore-gas-secure-after-turk-challenge.ashx#ixzz1XnVoJLrI

I tend to believe that this is the real reason for Erdogan's actions.