Israel And Turkey Agree To Normalise Relations

The Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, was part of a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip when Israeli naval commandos rappelled onto the ship’s deck and killed nine activists.

All Turkish lawsuits against Israel will be cancelled, and Turkey will prevent senior Hamas operative Salah Aruri from entering its territory and acting from there, the source said. A senior Turkish official said Friday the two sides had not signed an agreement but were nearing a final framework.

A USA official familiar with the agreement confirmed the details.

For the past five and a half years Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of Israel’s harshest critics, especially on its actions over Gaza.

Media reported Thursday that a preliminary agreement was reached between Ankara and Jerusalem on the reconciliation which includes financial compensation for the families of the ten Turkish citizens killed in the raid.

Necdet Pamir, an expert on energy in Bilkent University in Ankara, says Israeli natural gas could be an alternative to Turkey’s “extreme dependency” on Russian gas.

In the latest incident, the military said an Israeli army patrol in the West Bank village of Hawara approached a Palestinian suspect in order to question him, but he ran towards the soldiers with a knife and was fatally shot.

The official said Turkey would waive legal claims against Israel over the raid and that the countries would upgrade diplomatic ties by returning ambassadors.

Efforts to reconcile the countries, including in a 2013 phone call between Erdogan and Netanyahu that was brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama, have yet to yield a final deal restoring full diplomatic ties. “Normalising relations with Israel will be good for the Middle East”, he said, while clarifying that he was still waiting for Israeli compensation for the Mavi Marmara and the end of the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Zorlu has a 25 percent stake in the Dorad natural gas combined-cycle plant in Israel, which started operation in May past year, according to its 2014 annual report.

Talks with Israel have been ongoing for some time, Turkish Prime Ministry officials told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that they were continuing in a positive manner but no consensus has yet been reached.