Israel, Turkey close to normalize ties after five-year rift: report

Israel and Turkey are getting closer to normalize relations after a five-year rift, local media reported on Thursday.

Turkish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Naci Koru and the chief of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, Tamir Pardo, reached the understandings during secret talks in Switzerland, and the two will sign a document authorizing them in the upcoming days, the report said.

Both the Prime Minister's Office, which supervises Mossad, and the Foreign Ministry did not comment on the report.

Ties between the two countries had been close until 2010, when Israeli soldiers boarded the "Mavi Marmara" boat, which was part of a flotilla of international peace activists who attempted to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, and killed ten Turkish citizens in ensuing clashes.

The ties deteriorated further as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made vocal accusations against Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip in the past several years.

According to the reported understandings, Turkey and its citizens will forego lawsuits against Israeli soldiers, and Israel would set up a fund to compensate the victims of the incident. The report did not specify the amount to be paid through the fund.

Turkey would also allow Israel to place a natural gas pipeline on its turf and will embark on discussions to purchase natural gas from Israel.

The countries would rehabilitate their diplomatic relations by reinstating their ambassadors, who were withdrawn following the 2010 incident.

This report comes as Turkey faces the fallout of deteriorating relations with Russia, after it downed a Russian fighter jet that flew over its territory. On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially authorized a controversial outline to develop Israel's offshore natural gas fields.

It also follows some dovish remarks by the Turkish president recently in favor of reconciliation with Israel.

On Monday, Turkish media outlets quoted President Erdogan as saying that normalizing the ties between the countries would benefit the region. In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Director General Dore Gold said Israel "has always sought stable relations with Turkey and is constantly examining ways to achieve them."

Erdogan made similar remarks last month at the international climate summit in Paris, according to foreign media outlets.

The road for reconciliation was paved in 2013, when Netanyahu, at the behest of U.S. President Barack Obama, called and apologized to Erdogan over the killings of the Turkish citizens.

Since then there have been various reports of secret channels between Israeli and Turkish officials.

Two years ago, some reports suggested a breakthrough was reached amid a 20-million-U.S.-dollar compensation deal, but since then the contacts have been reportedly stalled by the Israeli and Turkish leaders. Endit