Photo Gallery Fighting over the Rock
Gibraltar, a British territory, has been the source of tension between Britain and Spain ever since 1713, when Spain ceded it in the Treaty of Utrecht. The peninsula is only 2.62 square miles in size, but it has at times been the source of great tension.
Britain, under Prime Minister David Cameron (pictured here), is incensed by recent border controls imposed by the Spanish that have led to hours-long delays at the border crossing between Spain and Gibraltar.
Writing in the Sun newspaper, Cameron's Europe minister, David Lidington, said, "Britain and Spain matter to each other. We are NATO allies, key trading partners and millions of Brits travel to Spain every year. But our good friendship with Spain does not mean we will turn a blind eye when the people of Gibraltar are threatened or put under pressure."
Here, a driver sits on the roof of his car as he and others wait in line to enter Spain at its border with the British territory. Queues have been long in recent days.
Madrid argues that Gibraltar doesn't belong to Europe's Schengen zone of passport-free travel and that the checks are legal and proportionate to avoid money laundering and smuggling of tobacco and other products from Gibraltar.
For hundreds of years, Gibraltar has offered a taste of Britain in the Mediterranean right at the border of Spain.
It is world famous for its barbary apes, which live on its rock formations and are a popular draw for tourists. Here, one appears to be contemplating at sunset. Is he thinking about the peninsula's future?
The views aren't terrible for a monkey -- or for tourists.
But trouble is lurking in Gibraltar. Officials in Madrid are also considering banning planes from using its airspace to reach Gibraltar. The country wants to use an international forum to press its claim to Gibraltar.
Here, passengers board an Easyjet flight at Gibraltar International Airport. The latest provocation allegedly came after Gibraltar created an artificial reef that Spain said was blocking its fishing vessels.
On Monday, Britain deployed war ships to the region in what it described as a long-planned military exercise, but the Spanish media said the plan for the HMS Westminster to stop at Gibraltar was an intimidating move by Britain. Spain is mulling action over the Gibraltar dispute at the United Nations or the International Court of Justice.
