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Israel

Turkish aid for forest fire brings diplomatic thaw

December 9, 2010 13:31

ByAnshel Pfeffer, Anshel Pfeffer

1 min read

The aid sent by the Turkish government to help fight the blaze on Mount Carmel offered an opportunity to improve the relations between the two countries.

In the wake of the fire, discussions took place this week over an Israeli apology for the Gaza flotilla incident and compensations to the families of nine Turkish citizens killed by Israeli naval commandos.

On Friday, Turkey sent two firefighting planes to take part in the international effort to end the fire on the Carmel at the request of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Over the weekend, Mr Netanyahu called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to express Israel's gratitude; this was the first direct conversation between the two leaders for over a year. Diplomats on both sides lost no time in using the opportunity to repair relations between the two nations, who were strategic allies not long ago.