Turkey, Israel working to appoint envoys soon

ANKARA

REU Photo

Turkey and Israel are working to mutually appoint ambassadors “within a short period of time,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated on Oct. 11.

As part of the normalization process with Israel, work to mutually appoint ambassadors is expected to be completed soon, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said when asked about the matter. 

Diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel were disrupted in May 2010 when Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists on the Mavi Marmara, a ship bound for Gaza with humanitarian aid.
       
In the aftermath of the attack, Turkey demanded an official apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed, and the lifting of Israel’s Gaza blockade.  
      
In 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced regret over the incident to Turkey’s then-prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.      
  
In addition to compensation, Israel has agreed to Turkey’s humanitarian presence in the Gaza Strip.        
On Aug. 20, Turkey’s parliament approved a deal involving Tel Aviv paying $20 million to the families of the victims, a sum which was paid on Sept. 30.

As part of ongoing rapprochement between the two countries, Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz is expected to visit Turkey on Oct. 13, in the first ministerial level meeting since relations collapsed in 2010.