Roundup: Hopes for rapprochement between Israel, Turkey renewed

The preliminary agreement reached discreetly between Israeli and Turkish negotiators sparked a fresh hope for the normalization of ties between the two countries that have been at odds over a number of differences since 2010.

The details of the deal, which was leaked to the Israeli press on Thursday night and confirmed by the Turkish side within hours, envisaged for upgrading ties to the ambassador level and resolving differences on lingering flotilla incident that happened five years ago.

"The normalization of Turkey and Israel relations is a necessary move," Bulent Aras, a senior scholar at Istanbul policy center, said.

He pointed out that Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia have all common interests in the region.

The deal, brokered in Switzerland by Turkish and Israeli negotiators, sees the establishment of a 20-million-U.S.-dollar compensation fund for the victims of 10 Turkish citizens who were killed by Israeli commandos during a raid of Gaza-bound Turkish humanitarian ship in 2010.

In exchange, Turkey reportedly pledged to drop lawsuits against Israeli soldiers and officials.

As part of the deal, both nations will appoint ambassadors to each other's capital to normalize ties that were downgraded after the flotilla incident.

Ankara also agreed to bar a high-ranking Hamas official identified as Saleh al-Arouri from travelling to Turkey.

Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency said the deal is not finalized yet, but did not elaborate on the details. It acknowledged that talks have been progressing positively for some time.

The breaking news came days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reports over the last weekend that a diplomatic thaw between Turkey and Israel was for the good of the entire region.

"This normalization process would be good for us, Israel, Palestine and the entire region. The region definitely needs this," Erdogan said.

Verda Ozer, Turkish columnist with Hurriyet daily, believed both countries' strategic interests in the region have overlapped. She suggested that joint interests were the driving force behind the recent deal.

She also said possible problems with the natural gas purchases from Russia in the future after downing of Russian jet on Syrian border last month have pushed Ankara to look for alternatives.

The terms of the agreement suggest negotiations between Turkey and Israel on laying out a pipeline to transport natural gas from Israel's offshore oil fields to Europe via Turkey.

Commenting on possible cooperation on energy, Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said on Thursday that the talks about the meeting the European Union's gas needs can be held after ties between Turkey and Israel are normalized.

This is not the first time that hopes were renewed on a rapprochement between the two countries. Back in June, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu met senior Israeli officials in Rome to discuss a reconciliation agreement.

That meeting did not produce the expected result amid two consecutive elections in Turkey, one in June and the other in November.

Turkey demanded that Israel lift the blockade on Gaza and pay the compensation for the flotilla incident, as precondition for any rapprochement. Israel formally apologized in 2013 to Turkey over the deaths.

Turkey's main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said an agreement would benefit both countries.

"Of course, having warm and cordial ties with all countries is beneficial not only for them but for us as well," he said.

However, the Felicity Party (SP) leader, Mustafa Kamalak, lambasted the government on the preliminary deal, saying that such an agreement cannot be accepted. Endit