Israel and Turkey recently announced a new era in their relations following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, in the wake of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s landmark visit to Ankara where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority in mid-May, he announced this week.

Speaking to a Turkish TV channel, the minister said he will discuss the return of ambassadors to Turkey and Israel during the visit.

Israel and Turkey recently announced a new era in their relations following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, in the wake of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s landmark visit to Ankara where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan said during Herzog’s visit that he believed “this historic visit will be a turning point in relations between Turkey and Israel. Strengthening relations with the State of Israel has great value for our country.”

He noted that his meeting with Herzog included a discussion about the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and said he believed “the coming period will bring new opportunities for both regional and bilateral cooperation.”

Once close regional allies, Israel and Turkey saw their ties fray during the tenure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.

Israel has been upset by Erdogan’s warm relations with Hamas, the terror group that controls the Gaza Strip.

The countries reciprocally withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli army soldiers were attacked when they boarded a Gaza-bound flotilla, the Mavi Marmara,  carrying humanitarian aid for the Palestinians that attempted to break an Israeli blockade, and killed 10 Turkish citizens in the altercation.