Israeli police: Palestinian shot, arrested after trying to ram car into

“It all depends on the final signatures”, said the statement from anonymous Israeli officials.

After five years of deep hostility between the two strategic nations, and secret discussions in a neutral country, Turkey and Israel are poised to resume diplomatic ties.

“From Israel’s point of view, the lifting of the Gaza blockade is not going to happen”. All claims against Israel will be dropped.

“We think an agreement between Turkey and Israel will be against Turkey, the Palestinian people and the peoples of the Middle East”, it said, adding there was no change in its position on the Gaza blockade and Mavi Marmara. They admit, however, that a furious row with Moscow triggered by Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet last month provided fresh impetus for a reconciliation. Now with Turkey talking about importing Israeli gas to replace cut-off Russian supplies the time appeared right for a rapprochement.

The third Palestinian identified as Nash’at Asfour, 25, succumbed to wounds he sustained after getting shot and seriously wounded by a live round fired by Israeli forces earlier Friday during clashes in the Ramallah town of Sinjil.

Israeli officials have leaked the terms of a preliminary deal.

Turkey’s relations with Israel have been strained, to put it mildly, since 2010 when, through a non-profit organization, Turkey funded the 2010 Gaza Flotilla aimed at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined comment.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said normalising ties with Turkey had huge importance both to develop the Leviathan stake and to bring global energy firms back to Israel to look for new gas fields.

According to Israeli media reports, Israel will pay Turkey compensation for that raid.

At first Israel seems to have been unsure how to make use of its natural gas, but one obvious route is a deal with Cyprus, something that would at first sight neatly lock out Turkey though probably at the cost of permanently ramping up tensions in a corner of the eastern Mediterranean already full of political conflict.

In addition, Israel nearly single-handedly blocked United States efforts to reach a peace deal with Iran, spending money like water when it came to congressional stooges. Albayrak indicated that the pipeline he envisages is an ambitious project carrying gas on from Turkey to Europe.

That doesn’t mean that Israeli gas will be fueling Turkish power plants anytime soon, even if the two sides manage to normalize relations.

Highlighting a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Brazil, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Brazil has rejected the appointment of settler leader, Dani Dayan, as new Israeli ambassador. Salah Aruri is alleged to have been involved in the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens a year ago and to have planned attacks against Israel from Turkish territory.

The basis for increased trade, including gas sales, is there, and Israel has weighed the price and found it acceptable.