“Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza. From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as what happened with the Freedom Flotilla.”-Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

Erdogan said that Turkey will boost its naval presence in eastern Mediterranean to challenge Israel’s domination in the sea.

In a reference to Israeli plans to exploit huge gas and oil reserves found beneath the Mediterranean Sea, that are claimed by Lebanon, Erdogan said Turkish forces will also stop Israel from exploiting natural resources in the area.

On July 26 Lebanon issued similar warnings to Israel: “We warn Israel against extending its hands to this area to steal Lebanon’s resources from Lebanese waters.”-Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General

The Turkish prime minister indicated that Israel’s claim to all the resources of the Mediterranean is what will lead to war: “You know that Israel has begun to declare that it has the right to act in exclusive economic areas in the Mediterranean. You will see that it will not be the owner of this right, because Turkey, as a guarantor of the Turkish republic of north Cyprus, has taken steps in the area, and it will be decisive and holding fast to the right to monitor international waters in the east Mediterranean.”