Israel
Turkey and Israel make their detente official
After six years of frosty ties between the two former allies, the knot has finally been re-tied
December 12, 2016 13:06
After six years of frosty ties between the two former allies, the knot has finally been re-tied
December 12, 2016 13:06Israel and Turkey have restored ambassador-level diplomatic ties.
Last Monday, Israel’s new ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Na’eh, handed his accreditation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Na’eh was previously the number two at Israel’s embassy in London. Last weekend, the new Turkish ambassador, Kemal Okem, formerly one of President Erdogan’s senior foreign policy advisers, arrived in Israel to begin his posting.
As part of the rapprochement agreement between the two countries, a court in Istanbul closed the cases brought against four former senior Israeli officers accused of murdering ten Turkish activists in May 2010 during an Israeli raid of the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza. Israel has agreed to provide their families with $20m in compensation.
Upon his arrival in Ankara, Ambassador Na’eh noted the “joint history of aid between the two countries in times of trouble”, mentioning the firefighting planes Turkey sent Israel when flames engulfed parts of Israel last month.
There are still, however, discordant notes between the two countries.
The embassy in Ankara flew the Israeli flag at half-mast on Sunday as a sign of mourning over the 38 Turkish police and civilians killed on Saturday night in a series of blasts outside Istanbul’s Beskitas stadium. But on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel condemns any terror in Turkey and expects Turkey to condemn any terror attack in Israel”.
Despite the rapprochement agreement, the Turkish government still allows Hamas to operate an office in Istanbul, though it has promised that the office will not be involved in directing terror operations. Israeli security officials say that while they have detected in recent weeks less involvement of the Turkish Hamas office in military affairs, it is still a major hub for the Palestinian organisation in fund-raising and propaganda.