Turkish deputy prime minister wants to visit Israel
A recent Israel-Turkey reconciliation agreement has been formally approved by the Turkish parliament, leading the deputy prime minister to announce that he is interested in visiting Israel; although the agreement won't fix all of the problems between the two countries, it is seen as important in strengthening Israel's geo-strategic position in the Middle East.
"The reconciliation agreement with Israel is good for Turkey and for the entire region," Şimşek wrote in a message. "I expect to visit Israel during my next round of international visits."
Israel already signed the agreement, while Turkey only officially signed the agreement on Saturday. As part of the agreement, Israel will pay the families of those who were killed aboard the Mavi Marmara $20 million within the next 25 days. Meanwhile, Turkey will cancel all lawsuits against the IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the incident. .
The agreement will completely normalize relations between the two countries, including an exchange of ambassadors. It is believed that this exchange will happen soon, and it is expected that Turkey will announce an ambassador to Israel by next week. It's not clear whether or not Israel will decide on an ambassador to send by next week as well.
While it's believed that the reconciliation agreement won't solve all of the problems between the two countries, and that relations will remain cool, the agreement is seen as an important step in improving Israel's strategic position in the Middle East and in the fight against terror.
Relations took a sharp turn downward during Israel's three-week war against Hamas in Gaza in 2008 and 2009, when Erdoğan criticized Israel over the high Palestinian death toll.
The animosity peaked on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed a ship called the Mavi Marmara while stopping the international flotilla.
Nine Turks, including a dual American citizen, were killed and dozens of activists were wounded, one of whom died several years later. On the Israeli side, seven soldiers were wounded by activists who attacked them with clubs, knives and pipes.
Following the incident, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and scaled back military and economic ties. Relations were never broken completely.
