The discovery of large natural gas reserves under the waters of
the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic
windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations--if
it doesn't spark new war between them. Mohammed Zaatari - AP
Images "Israelís Undersea Gas Bonanza May Spur Mideastern
Strife" Op-Ed, Bloomberg View May 21, 2012 Author: Meghan L.
O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of
International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center
Programs or Projects: The Geopolitics of Energy Project Egyptís
decision last month to stop selling natural gas to Israel could
be a harbinger of increasingly confrontational Egyptian-Israeli
relations, an indication of a worsening Egyptian economy, or
both. In any case, the end of the arrangement, which provided 40
percent of Israelís supply, suggests the need for more Israeli
creative thinking and assertive diplomacy -- not with Egypt but,
counterintuitively, with Turkey and Lebanon. The Egyptian move
would have raised great