In a surprising turn of events, both Israel and Turkey have made amends after a decade-long feud and current tensions regarding Palestine refugees. The diplomatic move was confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday.
There are already plans to send ambassadors back to each other’s countries to improve upon the steady relationships.
PM Lapid confirms that the evolving relations between the two nations will deepen by strengthening trade, and cultural and stabilizing regional ties.
The recent months’ activity by both nations has steadily improved their relations as well.
The new era of Turkey-Israel bonds started in March this year when Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid paid a visit to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
During the visit, Prime Minister Lapid showed gratitude to Turkey for capturing nearly ten Iranian people who were suspected of planning attacks on Israeli diplomats in Istanbul.
Both nations agreed that a stable relationship between nations would prove to be an asset in restoring peace in the Middle East.
On the other hand, the Turkish Foreign Minister also disclosed more information regarding the strategic move.
He said appointing ambassadors is one step closer to normalizing the bond between the two nations. The positive step was initiated by Israel and because of their efforts, Turkey too had decided to send in their ambassadors to Tel Aviv in the country.
After the full restoration of ties, the Turkish ambassador will only be designated after a list of roles will be presented to President Erdogan.
Interestingly, the diplomatic move from the country also came two years after the nation had signed a peace treaty with UAE and Bahrain in 2020.
Even Turkey had offset the chain of restoring peace with its neighbors in recent years. So, far efforts have been made with Israel, Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Turkish President Erdogan had just met with Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince in April 2022.
Historic breakthrough despite ongoing Palestinian tensions
The reason why Turkey called back their ambassadors from Israel in 2018 was due to the Gaza protests and former US President Donald Trump’s move to shift the embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s official capital. In response, the country also pulled back their ambassadors from Turkey.
Turkey first took a stand against Israel in 2008 when Gaza was bombarded with Israeli military operations.
Since then, Both nations have been keeping each other at an arm’s length. The situation steadied between 2016-18 but again plunged after the 2018 incident.
Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has also reportedly said that Turkey is still not giving up on its Palestinian cause.
Turkey and the Middle East
Ankara is now on its way to mending relationships in the middle east, and the conflict in the middle east is slowly but surely starting to fade.
For any hope of stability in the region, the nations of the Middle East need to kindle back their brotherhood as no western forces are currently interested in the region.
And it is evident by the efforts made by Turkey that Ankara has realized that it is vital to settle differences with other nations.
Israel too is concerned with strengthening its international standing in the world.
Also, it is reported that despite the sour relations with Turkey on the front, Israel still maintained back-end relations with the nations.
Despite the efforts made by Erdogan to polarise relations, Israeli officials have been publicly suspicious of the move.
Officials are worried about the equivocating nature of the current Turkish leadership, especially regarding the Palestine situation.
According to Dr. Nimrod Goren, President of Mitvim Research Institute for regional foreign policy, Israeli leadership needs a reform to form stronger bonds with Turkey.
On the other hand, Turkish President Erdogan views Israeli President Herzog as a “responsible adult” while dealing with the turbulent Israeli state of affairs.
Though, he also comments that both nations have been slow and careful in their approach since this June.
Despite some minor hiccups, both nations plan to work together to strengthen their cooperation to fight off attacks in Syria. Both nations view the Iranian loom on Syria as a threat to peaceful stability in the Middle east.
Hopefully, both the nations have success in achieving their goals to stabilize the conflicted region of Middle East.
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