The Eastern Mediterranean gas field
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John Kiriakou identifies the gas field rather than the islands as the serious point of friction in the Eastern Mediterranean. "Vast amounts of natural gas have been found off the south-eastern coast of Cyprus, stretching to Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, and the Israelis, the Cypriots, the Greeks and American oil companies have begun exploring, testing and lifting some of that gas."

Turkey

"The Turks feel cut out. And although none of that gas as has been discovered yet is in Turkish territorial waters, I think probably a wise thing to do might be to share some of the wealth with the Turks and keep everybody happy." The current state of play is a standoff: "the Turks recently sent a battleship to confront a French oil exploration ship, and so there''s very little going on in the way of exploration right now."

The Palestinian share

The second dispute Kiriakou raises is about who gets paid. "This is a problem also for the Israelis and the Palestinians, because much of that field is accessible from Gaza, from Palestine. And in the original agreement between all these different countries there was an acknowledgment that Palestinians own some of this gas, but that it would be up to the Israeli government to decide how much of the money the Palestinians get. And you know what the answer is going to be: it''s going to be zero."

See also

- Imia Crisis
- The Green Line in Nicosia
- Israeli property acquisition in Greece and Cyprus
- Lebanon-Israeli Conflict
- Proposals to relocate the Palestinians
