Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to advance ties between their countries in a phone call on Thursday.
“The two leaders agreed to act in cooperation to establish a new era in relations between Turkey and Israel,” Netanyahu’s spokesman said., adding that “President Erdogan and the prime minister-designate discussed ways to significantly strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the countries.”
Netanyahu sent condolences to the citizens of Turkey for the victims of the terrorist attack in Istanbul on Sunday and offered Israel’s help in fighting terrorism.
Erdogan similarly expressed his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack in Ariel on Tuesday.
The Netanyahu-Erdogan call follows efforts by the outgoing government to improve relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, which were initiated by Turkish overtures. Some of the greatest tensions between the countries came following events during Netanyahu’s previous tenure in office.
Mending the Israel-Turkey rift
The nadir came in 2010 after the Mavi Marmara raid, in which IDF commandos boarded a ship on its way to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, the commandos killed nine armed activists from an organization affiliated with Erdogan.
Netanyahu eventually apologized to Erdogan, under pressure from the US, and the countries reinstated their ambassadors. However, Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador after the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, and Israel responded in kind by expelling the Turkish ambassador.
Erdogan signed off on sending a new ambassador to Israel last Friday. Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat and the former Turkish ambassador to the Palestinians, will be posted in Tel Aviv. His most recent position was as a member of Turkey’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board.
Erdogan also sent Netanyahu a congratulatory letter last week.
“I congratulate you on your victory in the election and believe that the new government will continue the cooperation between the countries in all areas, in a way that will bring peace and stability to our region.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
“I congratulate you on your victory in the election and believe that the new government will continue the cooperation between the countries in all areas, in a way that will bring peace and stability to our region,” he wrote, according to Netanyahu’s spokesman.