Ankara committed to improving ties with Israel despite Netanyahu’s win

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined Türkiye’s commitment to improving ties with Israel despite poll results that indicate another term for veteran Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu during whose term Ankara-Tel Aviv relationship has been severely wounded.

“The election results are not clear but whatever the election results may be, we wish to conduct our relations with Israel on a sustainable basis, based on mutual respect for our sensitivities and our common interests,” Erdoğan stated during a televised interview late on Nov. 2.

Netanyahu, who had served as the prime minister between 2009 and 2021, is about to come back to the Israeli leadership through Tuesday’s elections which pledge him a majority at the Knesset. Turkish-Israeli relationship had been severely strained during Netanyahu’s term and there were almost no in-person communications between the two leaders in the recent years.

Following Netanyahu’s departure from power in 2021, Türkiye and Israel started a normalization process that resulted in the exchange of ambassadors and resumption of political and security dialogue.

“We are protecting our hopes to maintain this [normalization] process through mutual contacts and improve our relations in all the fields. As long as values are respected, I believe with win-win diplomacy, not only Türkiye and Israel, but the whole region will gain.”