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The natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean and repercussions of the Arab Spring yielded significant developments in the regional architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. Chief among them are the trilateral relationship among Israel, Greece and Cyprus and the regional gas forum launched in Cairo in early 2019 with the participation of seven Middle Eastern and European members (including Israel and the Palestinian Authority), with US and European support. Turkey is not a participant in any of these new constellations, viewing them as Mediterranean frameworks designed to exclude it in light of the circumstances in the region.Turkey recently took a surprising counter measure. On November 27, it signed two agreements with Libyas al-Sarraj government one on military cooperation and the other marking the economic maritime borders between the two countries. The maritime agreement generated much regional and international interest, prompting condemnation by various states. Turkey is not a signatory to the UNs Law of the Sea and has a different interpretation regarding the distribution of economic waters among the Mediterranean coastal states. It challenges the rights of Cyprus and the Greek Islands, including Crete, to economic waters of their own and therefore argues that its agreement with Libya complies with the rules of international law.Greece and Cyprus are leading the international opposition to the Turkish-Libyan agreement. Greece sent two missives to the UN, rejecting out of hand the agreement and calling on the Secretary General and the Security Council to discuss the issue. The EU, too, has condemned the agreement and backed its two Hellenic member states in the dispute. Israel, for its part, expressed public and clear support for the Greek position. Russia chose to react mostly to the military cooperation agreement, which, according to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow constitutes a grave breach of the arms embargo on Libya.It should be noted that Libya is a divided state, with one government in Tripoli headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, which has won de facto recognition by the international community, and another headed by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, which enjoys the support of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (but is also flirting with other states and entities, including Russia), located in Tobruk. This explains international concern over growing escalation in the Libyan civil war, especially given the involvement of many foreign players.What, then, is the point of the Turkish move and whom is it meant to challenge?Both Libyan-Turkish agreements, and especially the one delineating their maritime borders, are designed to challenge the anti-Turkish constellation that has emerged in recent years and currently includes concrete energy-related cooperation. The agreements, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clearly stated, are designed to signal Turkeys intention to insist on its rights in the region. Turkey is also seeking to convey its message by drilling in Cypriot economic waters (which, as mentioned, Turkey does not recognize). The latest Turkish moves mainly address Greece and Cyprus (over the interpretation of economic waters), but also Egypt. A deep and wide-ranging rivalry exists between Egypt and Turkey since al-Sisi assumed power. Turkeys Libyan move is generating great anger in Cairo, and Egypt is expected to respond with intensive measures vis--vis the Libyan arena, perhaps even with an effort to overturn the agreements (which are defined as memoranda of understanding, a fact which has raised various interpretations regarding their legally binding status).Israel, too, views the agreements as measures of Turkish defiance, as expressed in Erdogans statement that Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt would not be able to make any move in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin without Turkish approval. The Turkish move poses an additional challenge to the ambitious plans for a gas pipeline from Israel to Europe that will now have to go through territorial economic waters to which Turkey lays claim. Israel therefore immediately took a stand supportive of Greece. However, it is important to point out that Israel is currently in what can be called the second circle of those to whom the Turkish move is addressed. As mentioned, marking the economic waters between Turkey and Libya directly clashes with the Greek-Cypriot stand and interpretation. It challenges, creatively it must be said, the new Mediterranean architecture, with Israel at its center to a large extent and which isolates Ankara (even though Israel insists that its regional alliances are not directed against any country). However, the November 2019 incident between an Israeli research vessel and Turkish navy ships, along with the summoning of Israels top diplomat in Ankara to the Turkish Foreign Ministry over the Turkish-Libyan agreement, move Israeli involvement up a notch and will force Israel to consider a more direct reaction vis--vis Ankara.In any case, we can expect to witness extensive diplomatic activity aimed at ensuring that the Turkish-Libyan agreements do not overly exacerbate relations in the region, which are already at risk of escalation, and the situation on the ground in Libya. Russias moves (Erdogan was quick to appeal to Moscow on the issue) will be especially interesting given its complex and often contradictory links with the two sides in Libya, although it views the Syrian arena (where it has close ties with Turkey) as more important. Egypts reaction will also be of great interest, given its central role in the new architecture of the Eastern Med Basin and major interests in the Libyan arena.Israel, for its part, would do well to adhere to the regional relationship painstakingly built in recent years, with considerable success, and to support the position of its allies in the Eastern Mediterranean. The current architecture serves Israeli interests well, and in principle, its public position that avoids highlighting Ankaras confrontational stance leaves it sufficient room for maneuver in the current circumstances. Turkeys direct and more assertive messages are now putting to the test Israels decision to avoid direct public clashes with Ankara. Israel has to hone its position now by emphasizing the regional alliances, without overly exacerbating the already tense and complex situation in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin.The writer is a policy fellow at Mitvim The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, and formerly the Israeli ambassador to Cyprus.

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Turkey and Libya challenge Israels allies in the Mediterranean - The Jerusalem Post

In the Libyan capital Tripoli, where war casts a long shadow over everyday life, a church offers something of a sanctuary for Christian migrants.

Saint Francis Catholic Church in the heart of Tripoli is a place of comfort and hope for Christmas, this year, more than ever.

"Attendance is in line with normal, at least so far", Maltese Bishop George Bugeja, 57, told AFP.

"We have kept the celebrations the same as usual."

"I find life very difficult but here at the church... I forget I am in Libya, if only for a few hours", Nigerian engineer Jonathan Joshua said.

The 30-year-old arrived in the country four years ago and lives and works in the capital's eastern suburbs.

"If the situation allows", he makes the trip to the church to attend Mass, making himself useful as an usher.

In early April, strongman Khalifa Haftar -- who has long held sway in eastern Libya -- launched a military offensive against the capital, seat of the UN recognised Government of National Accord. Deadly fighting in Tripoli's southern reaches has hit civilians, and left migrants more vulnerable than ever.

A July 3 airstrike killed 53 people at a detention centre for migrants in the eastern suburb of Tajoura.

- Laughter and tears -

On Friday afternoons -- a weekend in Libya -- the calm pervading outside the church doors contrasts against incessant comings and goings inside.

Christians, all foreigners, take the opportunity to flock to their place of worship.Sporting a white jacket and black trousers, Jonathan confers with fellow ushers for a candlelight mass as Christmas approaches.

Various languages mingle in the festive air, along with the laughter and tears of children impatient for the start of the ceremony.

Six young girls flap the wings of their costumes while slipping between the church pews, but are quickly brought back in line by Jonathan, anxious to ensure a degree of order.

The biggest Christian communities in Tripoli by nationality are from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, working in the health and construction sectors in particular.

Many others are from sub-Saharan Africa and particularly vulnerable due to a lack of immigration paperwork.

- 'Not much choice' -

Mgr Bugeja said there has been a steady stream of Filipinos and Nigerians going home because of the deteriorating security situation.

There was once a very large Filipino community "but now we are far fewer", said 62-year-old Erlinda, a nurse who has lived in Libya for 37 years.

She arrived at the age of 25, married a Libyan and bore four children, all of whom are now themselves married.

"Our life is here. My husband, my children and their families live and work in Libya".

While most Filipinos have left, others are reluctant to go home."They find it difficult to find work if they return home," Erlinda said. "We have a stable life here. At our age, it is retirement or we start again from zero".

For Erlina and her family, "the church is a reliable place... of peace and joy and sharing, above all in this period of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

"These are moments of spiritual joy".

Italian Berto -- a teacher who arrived five years ago and one of the few Europeans still in Libya's capital said he went to the church just to "take a look".

"Nothing perturbs me in this country anymore. I am used to the life here". "Either you love it or you hate it here", he mused.

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Maltese bishop and his flock seek seasonal solace in war-torn Libya - Times of Malta

Issued on: 16/12/2019 - 19:43Modified: 16/12/2019 - 19:43

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with FRANCE 24, the International Criminal Court'sChief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda discussed the ICC's ongoing cases regarding Libya, Ivory Coast, the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Speaking to FRANCE 24 from The Hague, the ICC chief prosecutor warned Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar that she was monitoring his current offensive on Tripoli. She urged him to hand over one of his lieutenants, Mahmoud al-Werfalli, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court and whom Haftar recently promoted.

On the case against former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, Bensouda expressed hope that appeals judges would overturn the acquittal granted by the court back in January. She stressed that she was also actively pursuing her investigation into possible crimes by current PresidentAlassaneOuattara's camp.

Bensouda told FRANCE 24 her preliminary probe into potential crimes in the Palestinian territories was nearing its conclusion. She admitted the court had been under pressure by the Trump administration to drop her probe into crimes in Afghanistan, including a ban on her travelling to the US.

She added that she had just recently been authorised by judges to open a probe into crimes against the Rohingya minority by the Myanmar authoritiesbut that it was too early to say if this would involvesenior Myanmar military chiefs.

Finally, Bensouda said her office was looking into crimes in the "war on drugs" in the Philippinesbut that it was not yet possible to say whether thiswould target President Rodrigo Duterte.

Click on the player above to watch the full interview

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Exclusive: ICC chief prosecutor sends warning to Libyan strongman Haftar - The Interview - FRANCE 24

The Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the rejection by the House of Representatives in Tobruk of the Libyan-Turkish MoUs had put the Arab League in trouble.

Aboul Gheit said in a TV interview that Libya is a member of the Arab League and has an internationally recognized government that is called "Government of National Accord", which signed the MoUs with Turkey.

He added that the Arab League received letters on the issue from both sides, but had decided to freeze them as he doesn't want to weaken the Arab League any more, as it is going through the weakest times since it was established in 1945.

The Tobruk-based HoR, and its supporting Arab countries, especially Egypt which hosts the Arab League HQ, rejected the two MoUs between Libya and Turkey.

HoR Speaker Aqila Saleh informed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres after the signing of the MoUs that the HoR rejects it and called for withdrawing international recognition from the Presidential Council and asked for the HoR to be internationally recognized.

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Libya's Tobruk-based HoR has put the Arab League in trouble - The Libya Observer

Libya is playing host to a bitter war that has witnessed the country being carved up. Those responsible for Muammar Gaddafis ouster are taking the next step and plundering the country. The U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), joined by France and Russia, established a coalition, a joint front, against the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in aims to share Libya, its oil and natural gas.

The have all lined up behind Khalifa Haftar, who is one of the terror barons the CIA has bred for our region. He is a Trojan horse. He is one of the names to be used for the great alliance in question and their affiliated companies, and later tossed like a rag to a corner.

Haftar is Libyas Daesh; the biggest terrorist organization

With extraordinary military support, Haftars army has become the biggest terrorist organization in our region, after Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The role Haftar has undertaken in Libya is one and the same as the role Daesh assumed in Syria. His army is currently the biggest terrorist organization in the region.

He receives great amounts of ammunition support daily from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France, the U.S. and Russia. Egyptian troops are directly involved in the war. So are French forces. Meanwhile, the UAE amassed all its air forces in Libya.

Countries trying to corner Turkey in the north of Syria through the PKK and Daesh, then aspiring to open the Turkey front, have, this time, established the same front in Libya. Haftar is receiving shipments the same way the PKK and its Syrian affiliate the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) received them. Another country is being destroyed by the hands of Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The same front, same alliance is attacking Turkey from the Mediterranean this time

Turkey cracked the siege in Syria and rendered the project dysfunctional with the Euphrates Shield, Afrin and Peace Spring operations. The terror corridor, the map plan collapsed. Turkey not only fought the PKK there but it also had to fight the Saudi Arabia-UAE-Egypt bloc. The map that extended from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean collapsed.

Right at this moment, one leg of the siege was being carried out through the sea. The siege was being extended from the Iranian border toward the Mediterranean. A massive front, alliance was formed in a bid to corner Turkey from the East Mediterranean and siege it from the Mediterranean and the Aegean. The U.S., Israel, Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus (GCAS), France, certain EU countries, along with the Saudi administration, Egypt, and the UAE, stood up against Turkey here as well.

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt fighting Turkey across the region

There are deals upon deals, alliances upon alliances made over East Mediterranean energy resources; this time the Mediterranean was being carved up. Similar to that in northern Syria, the entire goal here was to siege Turkey, corner it, keep it out and drown it. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt had assumed the role of assassin again, and were hiding behind Israel and the Wests power while fighting against Turkey.

Turkey did not backtrack in any way. Instead, it resisted and challenged. It responded to the attacks with an offensive as it did in northern Syria. It steered its drillships to the Mediterranean and started operations in accordance with its own map. It activated its fleets in the Mediterranean and Aegean. This served to deter and frighten some companies and spoiled some countries plans.

Turkeys maritime deal with Libya: We were already neighbors! Theyre all in panic

Yet, Turkeys greatest blow was the Exclusive Economic Zone deal it made with Libya. Nobody was expecting this, which is why it caused a major shock effect in opposing countries. Everyone was taking position in accordance with the Mediterranean map identified by the West, but Turkey put forth a game-changing map. Turkey and Libya became neighbors through their sea borders, leading to a significant expansion in both countries surface area. The Mediterranean plans have been destroyed. They were not ready for this. They all gathered in panic and started to threaten Turkey in unison.

Sending troops to Libya means establishing a defense shield there

The deal between Turkey and Libya was not limited to their maritime borders. Both countries signed a military cooperation agreement. Accordingly, in the case that Libya requests it, Turkey can send troops to the country, train and arm the Libyan military.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoan stated twice, We may send troops if Libya requests it. Turkey is already covertly in Libya. However, this deal enables the open deployment of land forces, fleets and air forces to Libya.

Turkey is striving to stop a great threat that is targeting it in Libya. It wants to prevent Libyas division, negate plans aimed at drowning Turkey in the Mediterranean, and establish its defense shield there. Beyond being a desire, this is, in fact, an obligation. We will not allow them to exacerbate the situation, which we experienced in northern Syria, in the Mediterranean.

So, what were we supposed to do, surrender? Turkey has never, nor will it ever.

A meticulous siege map determined to surround Turkey from the Iranian border to the East Mediterranean, from the Aegean to the Balkans is being implemented. This is a nightmare scenario aimed at stopping Turkey, confining it within Anatolia, ending its new rising era, and then suffocating it inside.

Needless to say, they simultaneously built the same front within the country. What was a country to do in such a situation? Should it have surrendered? Was it supposed to do what the U.S., Israel, France, Greece, the UAE and Egypt dictated? Is Turkey such a country? Is there any instance in its centuries-long political history? No, there never has and never will be.

Not an internal politics matter, cut the hogwash.

Clashes in Libya have immensely intensified. We may wake up to extraordinary developments any day now. If they have their way in Libya, we may have no area of maneuver left in the Mediterranean and Aegean. They will drown us, which is what they intend to do anyway. This is not a matter of internal politics; it is a matter of the region, history and the future. Hence, Turkey will be and has to be present in both Libya and the Mediterranean with all its might, including sending troops and openly going to war!

We are there today for the same reasons we were in the 1911-1912 Turco-Italian War. We are present across the entire region and will continue to be so. Otherwise, they will not allow us to exist in Anatolia. We saw this a century ago. We are not going to go through the same scenario once more as the world is being re-established and maps are being redrawn.

Deployment can start any moment. The UAE is our open enemy; everything necessary must be done.

Libya may experience significant changes within the next few days. Turkey may deploy military forces to this country at any moment. The Turkish military will go to Libya if it must. Turkey cannot be allowed to be squeezed in-between the Aegeans narrow islands. It cannot be isolated from the region. It cannot be kicked out of the Mediterranean. We have memorized this game by now.

Additionally, it should be noted that the UAE is Turkeys biggest enemy, in every corner of the region across borders, and that it is a monument of evil. A struggle must be started in all known areas against this country; whatever is necessary, whatever can be done, must be done.

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Turkey may send troops to Libya anytime now! The same front, same alliance is attacking Turkey from the Mediterranean this time. This is not a matter...