Turkey and Israel ‘Reached Agreement’ on Normalizing Political Relations
Turkey and Israel will soon resume their normalized diplomatic relations.
According to CNN on Friday, April 20 (April 8), a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said that negotiations between delegations from the two countries regarding normalization of relations have made significant progress, and the two sides are approaching a final agreement. The latest round of negotiations was held in London, and it is expected that negotiators from the two countries will finalize the relevant agreement in another meeting in the near future.
Turkey and Israel were close regional allies during the 1990s and 2000s, and even during periods of Islamist governments in Turkey, warm relations between the two countries continued. For example, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey, visited Israel in 2005 and proposed to mediate between that country and the Palestinians.
These relations changed in 2010. In May of that year, a Turkish aid ship named Mavi Marmara, which was heading to the shores of Gaza to counter the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, was attacked by Israeli naval commandos, and ten Turkish activists supporting Palestine were killed. Israel was concerned that the success of this ship in entering Gaza’s coastal waters and delivering its cargo to Palestinians would set a precedent for similar actions. The attack on the Mavi Marmara caused years of strained relations and mutual accusations between the two countries. Before that, Turkey’s criticism of Israel during the Gaza war (December 2008-January 2009) had also caused a cooling of relations between the two countries.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, the delegation sent by the country to the London meeting included one of the deputies of this ministry, and one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisors, the Prime Minister of Israel, headed the delegation sent by that country. Apparently, the first round of secret negotiations took place in December of last year, and the next round of negotiations took place in February in Geneva. In the same month, Turkish sources said that the two countries were “moving forward” toward reaching an agreement.
Previously, Israel expressed regret regarding the attack on the Turkish aid ship and apologized to the country, and apparently negotiations over compensation payments have also reached a conclusion. Although it was said that Turkey’s condition for resuming relations with Israel was lifting the economic blockade of Gaza, it appears that Turkish officials have found Israel’s explanations on this matter sufficient.
Palestinians emphasize that the Gaza blockade has prevented ordinary people from accessing essential items, but the Israeli government has always said it only prevents the entry of items into Gaza that Palestinian militants use for military operations against Israel. Some of these items include building materials necessary for the reconstruction of war-torn Gaza facilities, but Israel has said that Palestinian militias use them to build border tunnels and to enter Israel for military operations.
According to some observers, Turkey has multiple motivations for resuming relations with Israel. These include the deterioration of relations with Russia since that country’s military presence to support the Syrian government and the downing of a Russian military aircraft, which has damaged the continuation of the joint economic plan between the two countries, and Israel could help Turkey in this regard.
Also, Russia is a major supplier of gas needed by Turkey, and the Turkish government may be considering purchasing gas from Israel to reduce dependence on Russia. Differences between Turkey and some other countries in the region due to their different positions on regional crises may also have been effective in reviving friendly relations with Israel.
After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Turkey recognized the state of Israel and established political relations with it. After the Oslo Peace Accords between Palestinians and Israel in the 1990s, Turkey expanded its relations with Israel and the two countries began close cooperation in various fields.
Israeli officials have not yet commented on negotiations regarding resuming relations with Turkey.
Source: BBC Persian
