Israel y Turkey announced on Wednesday that they will resume their full diplomatic relations, after several years of tensions, but Ankara warned that it will continue “defending the rights of the Palestinians” despite this rapprochement.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapidsaid that the measure represents an “important asset for regional stability” and “very important economic news for the citizens of Israel.”
According to Lapid’s office, both countries will appoint ambassadors and consuls general and direct flights will resume.
The Israeli prime minister had a phone call with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoganduring which they agreed that the normalization of relations would lead “to many achievements, especially in the trade and tourism sectors,” he added.
Erdogan’s office noted that in the call the Turkish president expressed his support for “developing cooperation and dialogue between Turkey and Israel on a sustainable basis and with respect for each other’s sensitivities.”
The relationships between Turkey e Israel they began to weaken in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Links further deteriorated in 2010, with the death of 10 civilians in an Israeli attack on the Turkish ship.”blue Marmara” who was trying to break the blockade imposed by Israel on that Palestinian territory.
In 2016, there was a reconciliation agreement, but this fell apart in 2018, when the Israeli army killed more than 200 Gazans in protests on the border between Gaza and Israeli territory. Turkey he expelled the Israeli ambassador and in response, Israel expelled the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after months of bilateral efforts to strengthen ties, with reciprocal visits by high-ranking officials.
In May, Mevlut Cavusoglu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog traveled to Ankara in March.
The return of the ambassadors “is important to improve bilateral relations,” Cavusoglu said, adding that Turkey would nonetheless continue to “defend the rights of the Palestinians, Jerusalem and Gaza.”
“Legitimate the occupant”
Turkey It maintains relations with the Palestinian government of the occupied West Bank and with the Islamist movement Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip.
“As we have always said, we will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians,” Cavusoglu insisted on Wednesday.
Hamas, Israel’s nemesis, reacted suspiciously to the announcement. “We expect all Arab, Muslim and friendly countries to isolate the occupier and put pressure on him to make him respond to the legitimate rights of Palestinians,” Basem Naim, commander of the Palestinian armed movement in Gaza, told AFP.
“Any normalization with the (Israeli) occupier is a legitimization of their presence in our lands,” he added.
Despite this, one should not “have illusions” and think that bilateral relations will be as good as in the 1990s, said Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.
“As long as Erdogan is in power, there will continue to be a certain level of hostility from Turkey towards Israel,” Inbar told AFP.
Investments
The Israeli president said on Wednesday that the restoration of full diplomatic relations “will encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples.”
Turkey it faces strong inflation and the collapse of its currency. In this context, Ankara “is trying to normalize its relations with many countries in the region,” including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with the aim of “attracting foreign direct investment,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Studies (INSS). in Tel-Aviv.
Despite diplomatic wrangling in recent years, trade between the two countries has continued and Turkey remains a popular destination for Israeli tourists.
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