Turkey’s and Israel's Policies Toward the Energy Struggle In the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Turkey and Israel are energy dependent countries. Israel’s failure to find a source country that will provide energy has been the biggest problem of the country. Thus, Israel has later initiated reserve prospecting activities in its exclusive economic zone. Turkey has attached importance to resource variety for overcoming the problem of energy provision. The use of natural gas both in houses and industries has impelled Turkey and Israel to reconsider their national energy policies. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the new energy policies, particularly those on natural gas, of the two countries. The results have shown Israel has become an energy exporting country after the exploration of natural gas reserves in its own territories and looked for countries for cooperation in the region. Turkey is among the countries for cooperation with Israel. However, Israel has made agreements with Turkey’s rivals. Excluded from gas routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey has aimed to create a sphere of influence with Turkish Cypriots and Libya, leading to the formation of a gas-transmissioninduced bloc in which Turkey and Israel are rivals on different sides. The present paper assesses these results through the discussion of the remarks by the bureaucrats of the two countries and their agreements. The proposal of the study is for Turkey to disrupt the cooperation in the anti-Turkey bloc including Israel. Furthermore, Turkey may advisably revise its cooperation with the countries on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean and reconsider its relationships with Lebanon and Syria accordingly.