Sunni militants claiming links to the Islamic State group have said they have been behind rocket fire from Gaza in recent months, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all such incidents.
Advertisement
Early this week Israeli forces detained a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) medic at the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media about the diplomatic talks.
This comes five years after an Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip.
According to the official, incoming Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and Joseph Ciechanover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s point-man for Turkish reconciliation, made up Israeli team, with Turkish foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu representing Ankara.
The State Department warned Americans in Israel to be aware of their surroundings at all times, avoid any unattended items or packages, and report any unusual or suspicious activities or items to police or other security officials.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last Sunday that the “normalisation process” between Israel and Turkey “would be good for us, Israel, Palestine and the entire region”.
A final deal has yet to take shape, he said.
Turkish diplomatic sources, quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency, said negotiations between Israel and Turkey on a normalisation of ties were in progress. He did not say where Aruori was now located.
Israel is a growing natural gas power and this week signed a deal to exploit a large gas field in the Mediterranean.
In 2010, six civilian ships in a humanitarian aid flotilla were attacked in global waters by Israeli forces. The Israeli ambassador was expelled from Ankara in September 2011 after Israel refused to apologize for the killings.
A campaign of stabbings, shootings and car-rammings by Palestinians has killed 19 Israelis and a US citizen since the start of October.
Advertisement
A secret meeting in Zurich on Wednesday has led to a preliminary agreement between Turkey and Israel ending a long dispute.
