Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” Law Could Trigger War, Israel Warns
Israel is alarmed by Turkey's plan to pass the so-called "Blue Homeland" law as early as next month, with Israeli financial outlet Globes warning the legislation could set the stage for armed conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan's AKP party is pushing the law to formally assert Turkish territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles around Greek islands, which Ankara treats as mere extensions of the Anatolian mainland with no continental shelf rights of their own. In practice, it would give Turkey legal cover to block fishing, energy exploration, and the laying of any undersea cables in those waters.
"Any cables laid will be cut," Ankara has warned the Italian survey vessel already operating near Kasos and Karpathos.
The immediate target appears to be the Great Sea Interconnector, a 1,200-kilometer undersea cable project linking Israel's electricity grid to Cyprus and then to Crete and mainland Europe. The Italian survey vessel NG Worker, already operating near Kasos and Karpathos where preliminary work has begun, has received repeated warnings from Ankara that any cables laid will be cut.
Dr. Hai Eitan Cohen Yanarotchak, a Turkey specialist who spoke to Globes, said Ankara sees the Greece-Cyprus-Israel alliance as a direct threat and is using the Blue Homeland doctrine as legal justification for a potential military confrontation. A senior Greek official also told the Israeli publication that Turkey has shown consistent disregard for international law, and that Erdogan's close relationship with Donald Trump adds uncertainty to how Washington might respond.
For Israel, the stakes go beyond a territorial dispute. After the recent escalation with Iran, Tel Aviv views its energy infrastructure as a prime target and wants the European grid connection as a backup power source if its own facilities are hit. The EU is covering 35% of the 1.9 billion euro Crete-Cyprus leg, with Cyprus picking up 63% and Greece covering the rest, though the Israel-to-Cyprus segment will have to be privately financed.
Turkey's occupation of northern Cyprus is also being used to claim additional sea zones, complicating the route further. Israel's Energy Ministry confirmed the project is being accelerated, but acknowledged completion is still years away.
