Foreign Affairs Ministry dir. gen. to visit Turkey after 6 year diplomatic silence

Foreign Affairs Dir. Gen. Yuval Rotem is due to fly to Turkey and work toward mending fences. His trip will be the first in six years, and is a follow-up to the reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey after years of diplomatic disconnect.

In 2016, Israel transferred $20 million as part of the reconciliation deal involving the Marmara flotilla incident, where nine Turkish citizens were killed after those on board the Marmara attacked IDF soldiers who commandeered the vessel as it attempted to break Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza.

Rotem's trip is to focus on diplomatic, financial, cultural and other issues, as well as conveying Israel's sympathis in light of the the deadly terroist attack in Istanbul on New Year's Eve, in which 18-year-old Israeli Layan Nasser was killed.