Thursday, March 28

Israel and Turkey will resume full diplomatic relations


Israel and Turkey announced on Wednesday that they will resume their full diplomatic relations, after several years of tensions, but Ankara warned that it will continue to “defend the rights of the Palestinians” despite this decision.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the move is a “major asset for regional stability” and “very important economic news for the citizens of Israel.”

According to Lapid’s office, both countries will reappoint ambassadors and consuls general.

The announcement came after months of bilateral efforts to strengthen ties, with reciprocal visits by high-ranking officials.

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, stated that the return of the ambassadors “is important to improve bilateral relations.”

But still, he noted that Turkey will continue to “defend the rights of Palestinians, Jerusalem and Gaza.”

In May, Cavusoglu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years, during a trip in which he also met with Palestinian leaders from the occupied West Bank.

During a visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Ankara in March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the meeting marked a “turn in relations” between the two countries.

Ties between the two nations began to weaken in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Relations cooled in 2010 following the death of 10 civilians in an Israeli bombardment of the “Mavi Marmara” trick ship, which was part of a flotilla trying to break the Israeli-imposed blockade on Gaza.

settlement agreement

In 2016, a reconciliation agreement allowed the ambassadors to return to their posts, but this was left in the lurch in 2018, when more than 200 Gazans were killed by Israeli forces during protests on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory, which led both countries to call their representatives for consultations.

The efforts towards a reconciliation were made public in July 2021, when Herzog took office.

On Wednesday, the Israeli president noted that the restoration of full diplomatic relations “will encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples.”

Despite diplomatic wrangling in recent years, trade between the two countries has continued and Turkey remains a popular destination for Israeli tourists.

Still, the Israeli authorities called on their fellow citizens to return home “as soon as possible” fearing that Iran could carry out attacks in Istanbul.

Lapid thanked the Turkish government for its cooperation in this matter.

Fearing that strengthening relations with Turkey might upset his regional allies, the Israeli president visited Cyprus and Greece before traveling to Ankara.

However, Turkey stressed that, despite resuming relations with Israel, “it will not abandon the Palestinian cause.”

“As we have always said, we will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians,” Cavusoglu declared on Wednesday.

Turkey has relations with the Palestinian government of the occupied West Bank and with the Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said observers should “under no illusions” that bilateral relations will be as good as they were in the 1990s.

“As long as Erdogan is in power, there will continue to be a certain level of hostility from Turkey towards Israel, because of its connection to Islamism. For example, he will continue to support Hamas,” Inbar told AFP.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed a blockade on 2.3 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. Like many Western countries, it regards Hamas as a terrorist organization.


www.abc.es

Also Read  Mountain labs turn Honduras from cocaine way station into producer | Honduras

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *