UPI: Israel sees Turkey-Cyprus settlement as key to gas exports

Israelis are still trying to figure out how to export natural gas from their big offshore fields under the eastern Mediterranean, and their thinking these days seems to be moving along radical lines -- like playing peacemaker.

One option under study is to build a $10 billion liquefied gas terminal in nearby Cyprus, which also has found gas, and jointly export to Europe.

But that's risky because of Turkey's occupation of the northern part of the largely Greek-speaking island and Ankara's insistence the Greek sector cannot drill without a political settlement.

Turkey used to be Israel's bosom ally, but their two-decade strategic alliance fell apart in May 2010 after Israel's navy jumped Turkish ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, killing nine Turks.  MORE