by Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff
Israeli officials say negotiations are presently at a standstill because of Turkey's refusal to terminate Hamas activities on its soil • Last week, Turkish FM reportedly told ministers the countries could make a joint statement "in the coming days."
The political echelon in Jerusalem on Monday
downplayed reports from Turkey that the countries were on the verge of a
deal to normalize relations. Officials stressed that Israel was
insisting Ankara terminate Hamas' base of operations in Turkey and that
currently there was no progress on the matter.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon recently
addressed the issue, citing Israel's objection to Turkey's support for
Hamas as an obstacle to an agreement. Hamas operative Salah al-Aruri,
who headed the terrorist group's Turkey headquarters, was expelled by
Ankara and now resides in Qatar.
National Infrastructure, Energy and Water
Minister Yuval Steinitz, meanwhile, has been working to normalize ties
and would like Turkey to join the group of countries purchasing Israel's
natural gas.
In light of Ankara's strained relations with
Russia, Israel is pinning rapprochement with Turkey on its supposed
desire to tap into Israel's natural gas market.
About one month ago Israel said parameters for
reconciliation had been agreed upon, with similar reports emerging from
Turkey, but a comprehensive deal, which would also include the mutual
reinstatement of ambassadors, has yet to be finalized.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan presided over a nine-hour cabinet meeting, which included a
discussion on the future of relations with Israel. According to the
Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told
cabinet ministers during the meeting that efforts to finalize a
reconciliation deal with Israel were close to being completed.
According to the report, Cavusoglu said Turkey and Israel might make a joint statement "in the coming days."
As stated, however, officials in Jerusalem
said the Turks were not meeting Israel's demand to put an end to Hamas'
activities on its soil, and that negotiations were presently at a
standstill as a result.
The once-close relationship between Turkey and
Israel soured after the May 2010 Gaza flotilla incident, in which eight
Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American were killed when Israeli
naval commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara vessel, which was seeking to
breach Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. A 10th
Turkish citizen died later of his injuries.
Under a U.S.-brokered arrangement in 2013, Israel
apologized to Turkey for the deaths and agreed to compensate the
victims' families. But subsequent efforts to restore ties have stalled.
Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=32119
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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