Türkiye and Israel 'reach agreement' on normalization of political relations
Türkiye and Israel will soon resume normal diplomatic relations.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said on Friday, April 8, that the talks between the delegations of Turkey and Israel on the normalization of relations have made significant progress and the two sides are close to reaching a final agreement. The latest round of talks was held in London and negotiators from the two countries are expected to finalize the relevant agreement in another meeting in the near future, FCNN reported.
Turkey and Israel were close regional allies in the 1990s and 2000s, and even under Islamist governments in Turkey, the two countries maintained warm relations. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Israel in 2005 and offered to mediate between the country and the Palestinians.
These relations changed in 2010. In May of that year, the Turkish aid ship Mavi Marmara, which was heading to the coast of the Gaza Strip to break the economic blockade of the region, was attacked by Israeli naval commandos, killing ten Turkish pro-Palestinian activists. Israel was concerned that the ship’s success in entering Gaza’s coastal waters and delivering its cargo to the Palestinians would pave the way for similar actions. The attack on the Mavi Marmara led to years of strained relations and an exchange of accusations between the two countries. Earlier, Turkey’s criticism of Israel during the Gaza War (December 2008-January 2009) had caused a chill in relations between the two countries.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, the Turkish delegation to the London meeting included a deputy minister of the ministry and was led by an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The first round of secret talks reportedly took place in December last year, with a second round in Geneva in February. That same month, Turkish sources said the two countries were “moving forward” towards reaching an agreement.
Israel has previously expressed regret over the attack on the Turkish aid ship and apologized to the country, and negotiations over compensation have apparently reached a conclusion. Although it was said that Turkey's condition for resuming relations with Israel was the lifting of the economic blockade of Gaza, it seems that Turkish officials have considered Israel's explanations in this regard sufficient.
Palestinians insist that the blockade of Gaza has prevented ordinary people from accessing essential goods, but the Israeli government has consistently said that it is only preventing the entry of goods into Gaza that Palestinian militants use for military operations against Israel. Among these items are some construction materials needed to rebuild war-torn Gaza, but Israel says Palestinian militants use them to build border tunnels and enter Israel for military operations.
According to some observers, Turkey has several motives for resuming relations with Israel. Among them is the deterioration of relations with Russia since the country's military presence in support of the Syrian government and the downing of a Russian warplane, which has damaged the continuation of a joint economic plan between the two countries, and Israel can help Turkey in this regard.
Also, Russia is a major supplier of gas to Turkey, and the Turkish government may be considering reducing its dependence on Russia by purchasing gas from Israel. The differences between Turkey and some other countries in the region due to their different positions on regional crises may also have been effective in restoring 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 the Palestinians and Israel in the 1990s, Turkey expanded its relations with Israel, and the two countries began to cooperate closely in various fields.
Israeli officials have not yet commented on the talks regarding the resumption of relations with Türkiye.
Followed by: BBC Persian
