Israel, Turkey reach preliminary deal to restore ties – Israeli official

Israel and Turkey have reached a preliminary agreement to normalize relations, including the return of one another’s ambassadors to both countries, an Israeli official said Thursday.

As part of the agreement Israel will establish a compensation fund for the nine Turkish civilians killed when the Israeli navy boarded the Marmara, which was trying to run the Gaza blockade.

The understanding was reached at secret talks in Switzerland, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment on record. The second point provides for normal relations to be resumed and that ambassadors return to the two countries.

Early Monday, Israeli warplanes hit a training camp of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, without causing casualties, after a rocket hit southern Israel.

Moreover, work on a gas pipeline is scheduled to bring the product from Turkey to Europe through Israel. This has already been met, as Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu apologised to Mr Erdogan for “any errors that could have led to loss of life” in March 2013.

At the time of the call, Netanyahu was sitting with U.S. President Barack Obama in a trailer on a Tel Aviv airport tarmac.

However, he says it could take years for this alternative to become a reality.

Israel has long accused Turkey of letting Aruri plan deadly attacks from its territory. Luis Moreno Campo former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court made the statement in Jerusalem about Israel’s great lawyers regarding the report issued by Israel’s Foreign Ministry under the directive of Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely(Likud).

Erdogan’s critical rhetoric toward Israeli policies in Gaza have been hailed by many in the Arab world.

A preliminary deal was reached during a recent meeting in Switzerland between the incoming head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Yossi Cohen, Israeli envoy Joseph Ciechanover and Sinirlioğlu, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.