Israel, Turkish leaders to meet at UN next week

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, as relations between the two countries thaw.

Lapid’s office said he would travel to New York on Monday night, ahead of an address to the General Assembly on Thursday.

A source said the meeting with Erdogan would take place on Tuesday.

It came as Israel’s armed forces chief Lieutenant General Aviv Kohavi announced his first visit to France and Poland to meet with senior officials in the two countries.

Last month, Türkiye and Israel announced the full restoration of diplomatic ties following years of strained relations.

In May, Mevlut Cavusoglu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years.

Erdogan described a fence-mending visit to Ankara by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March as "a turning point in our relations".

Relations began to fray in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Relations then froze in 2010 after the deaths of 10 civilians following an Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of an aid flotilla trying to breach the Israeli blockade on Gaza.

A brief reconciliation lasted from 2016 until 2018, when Türkiye withdrew its ambassador and expelled Israel’s over the killing of Palestinians. More than 200 Gazans were shot dead by Israeli forces during border protests in 2018 and 2019.