Talks to restore Turkey-Israel ties going well, no deal yet: AKP spokesman

ANKARA

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Talks between Turkey and Israel to repair ties are going well but a deal has still yet to be reached, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesman Ömer Çelik said on Feb. 11. 

“We have information that the talks are going well,” Çelik said, according to Doğan News Agency. 

“But unless we see the practical implications of the talks, we cannot say it’s a done deal,” Reuters quoted him as saying. 

Çelik stressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza as being crucial for a deal, describing it as an “open-air prison” where “not even a tomato is allowed to enter.” 

“There is no electricity or water … There is no similar place on earth. Turkey still demands that humanitarian needs [in Gaza] be fulfilled,” he said.  

Diplomats from the two countries have long been negotiating over a plan to normalize relations, ruined since the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara flotilla led to the deaths of 10 Turkish citizens in 2010.

Israel officially apologized to Turkey in 2013 over the killings, but talks on compensation for families of the victims and the terms of Turkish access to Gaza have yet to be clarified.

Hürriyet Daily News reported on Feb. 9 that Turkish and Israeli diplomats were set to meet in Switzerland on Feb. 10.