Israel announced yesterday, Monday, its opposition to the agreement signed by Libya and Turkey last month regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders between them in the eastern Mediterranean.
This came in statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, but he stressed that the agreement will not likely lead to a conflict with Turkey.
The agreement defines a corridor for the sea border between Libya and Turkey, which will likely pave the way for oil and gas exploration.
Greece, a close ally of Israel and at odds with Turkey over a number of issues, described the deal as "ridiculous" because "it ignores the existence of the Greek island of Crete between the coasts of Turkey and Libya."
The Israeli government has never publicly commented on this agreement, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go to Athens next week, to consolidate plans with Greece and Cyprus on building an undersea pipeline to export gas from Israel to Europe.
Nicosia said that Netanyahu informed the Cypriot president last Friday that the maritime agreement was "illegal". When asked to confirm the Cyprus story, the Israeli foreign minister said, "This is Israel's official position, but it does not mean that we will send warships to confront Turkey."
Katz added in an interview with Israeli channel 13 that "despite the rivalry" with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he does not believe that Israel or Turkey, a member of NATO, are considering entering into a conflict.
He added that "we have no desire, just as Turkey has no desire to confront Israel."