Turkish will not allow Israel to export natural gas to Europe
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz says the country will not allow Israel to export natural gas to Europe through Turkish territory. “We can’t ignore the fact that Israel has killed nine Turkish nationals… oil and natural gas are not everything,” Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper quoted the energy minister as saying on Friday.
Yildiz added that Europe is the best market for the energy resources Israel has found under the seabed, but noted that Israel would need Turkey to export the natural gas.
He went on to say that Israel will not be able to export its gas through a pipeline under water since the geological situation is not appropriate on the seabed.
Yildiz also called on Israel to apologize for its deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish nationals.
On May 31, 2010, Israeli navy commandos attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while it was sailing in international waters on a mission to break Tel Aviv’s siege of the Gaza Strip.
The attack left nine Turkish citizens, including a Turkish-American teenager, dead and dozens of others wounded.
However, Tel Aviv has refused to apologize for the attack, prompting Ankara to expel the Israeli ambassador, cut all bilateral military ties, and downgrade relations with Israel.
Turkey has also vowed to take action at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to challenge Tel Aviv’s four-year siege of Gaza. The blockade has been preventing the flow of food, medicine, and other basic supplies into the impoverished coastal territory.
