Efforts by Israel and Turkey to restore their once strong relationship could be helped by the common threats they face from Islamic State militants and Iran, a senior Israeli diplomat said on Tuesday.
Israeli-Turkish ties have soured during Tayyip Erdogan's rule in Ankara, but his Islamist-rooted AK Party's setbacks in a June 7 election and the reshaping of the region has stirred speculation about a realignment of interests.
Delegates from both sides have been trying to finalise a compensation deal over the killing by Israeli marines of 10 Turks aboard a pro-Palestinian activist ship that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2010.
Asked where the reconciliation efforts stood, Dore Gold, the director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, told reporters: "I think there is an effort by both sides to see whether we can move forward, how do you say, to turn over a new leaf and see whether we can improve our relations."