Israel has been working on natural gas in Palestine and the Mediterranean for years. Israel, which usurped the Leviathan and Tamar natural gas fields, which have 2,200 billion cubic meters of natural gas deposits belonging to Palestine, started to sell natural gas to Jordan and Egypt in 2020, and some of the gas from Israel was liquefied in Egypt and exported to Europe. It is known that the last target of the Zionist Israel, which extracts the natural gas belonging to the Palestinians and sells it by liquefying since 2020, is to sell the gas it has conquered to Europe via Turkey. As it will be remembered, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said in a statement he made in the past months, “We use Israel's natural gas in our country, beyond using it, we will engage in a joint work for its transition to Europe.”
THE TOPIC OF ENERGY CAME TO THE FORE
A meeting was held between President Herzog of the occupying Israeli regime and President Erdoğan in the last period, and the said contact lasted for 2 hours and 10 minutes. While it was a matter of curiosity about what was discussed in the meeting, which was closed to the press, Milli Gazete reached an important detail. During the meeting in question, many issues from bilateral relations to regional issues were discussed, while natural gas seized by the Israeli regime from Palestine was also on the agenda. According to the information obtained by the Milli Gazete, President Erdoğan expressed Turkey's desire to advance gas cooperation between Ankara and Tel Aviv regime and to build an Israel-Turkey-Europe pipeline and emphasized the need for cooperation on this issue.
“ISRAEL LOOKS POSITIVELY”
There was another hot development in the context of the energy issue between Turkey and the Israeli regime. Speaking to foreign broadcaster Reuters in March, a Turkish official said, “There has been a rapprochement with Israel recently and we want the natural gas to be transferred to Europe to pass through Turkey. Israel looks this positively. Some interviews were held. There is the will to do this.” A senior official from the Israeli gas industry on the other hand said, “Turkey attracts great attention both for its domestic consumption and because it is a channel opening up to countries in the south of Europe.”
NATURAL GAS THAT IS MUSLIMS' RIGHT USURPED
Israel has been working on natural gas in Palestine and the Mediterranean for years. During the normalization process in 2016, Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz announced that Israel found 900 billion cubic meters of natural gas and that there was a possibility of reaching 2,200 billion cubic meters of natural gas. “We are talking about large quantities of natural gas. This is way above what Israel can consume. Exporting natural gas through different pipelines to the region or to Europe is therefore of great importance,” Steinitz said. However, it is known that the natural gas found is the right of the Palestinians and has been usurped by Israel.
MILLI GAZETE RELEASED THE ISRAEL PLAN WITH MANY HEADLINES
The Milli Gazete had revealed Israel's ultimate goal with many headlines it had previously published. Our newspaper dated January 18, 2020 with the headline "Israel robs, extracts, sells," had clearly revealed Israel's plan on Turkey. In order to sell the seized gas of the Muslims to Europe, the "Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum Project" was initiated, first led by Israel and which includes Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Cyprus. When the Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline Project through Southern Cyprus was both costly and inconvenient in terms of security, Israel turned its route to Turkey, which is low-cost and safe this time.
PALESTINIAN REACTED TO THE USURPATION OF THEIR RESOURCES
Palestinians held an action demanding the granting of natural gas rights in the Mediterranean off the Gaza Strip and the construction of a sea route that will connect the region that Israeli blockade with the outside world. At the event held in Gaza Port, banners written "Our gas is our right", "Our right to travel freely and with dignity", "We will get our rights whether you like it or not", "The Gaza blockade is a crime against humanity" unfurled.
“WE WILL NOT WAIVE OUR RIGHTS”
Suheyl al-Hindi, one of the leaders of Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), also made a statement at the event organized by Palestinian groups in Gaza Port. “We are telling the enemy that we will not waive our rights to natural resources, especially the sea route connecting Gaza to the outside world and the gas in the Gaza Sea,” the HAMAS leader said in a statement. Stating that the people of Gaza are living under difficult economic and humanitarian conditions due to the ongoing siege, Hindi noted that dozens of Palestinian families do not have a subsistence that will enable them to lead a dignified life.