After the raid, the countries withdrew their ambassadors, largely cut security ties and have since maintained only low-level diplomatic relations.
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While Israel will set up a $20 million fund to compensate the families of the dead and wounded from the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey agreed not to prosecute Israelis over the 2010 raid.
There were multiple reports in Israeli media that a deal could be announced as early as Sunday, though officials were declining to speak publicly on the talks.
The families of Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian Israeli believed to be a captive in Gaza, and Oron Shaul, the second fallen soldier whose body is held by Hamas, rallied outside the Prime Minister’s Office ahead of the vote and spoke to several ministers before the cabinet meeting.
The deal between Turkey and Israel after years of negotiation was a rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East, driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals.
Even in their announcements, the two countries appeared to be at odds.
Turkey reportedly also has withdrawn its demand that Israel halt its Gaza blockade, but Israel will allow Turkey to establish building projects in Gaza with the building materials entering Gaza through Israel’s Ashdod Port. The building projects reportedly include a hospital, a power station and a desalinization plant.
The president said a ship carrying 11,000 tons of humanitarian aid is being readied to send from Turkey to Gaza this Friday and sending these relief supplies will be a routine afterwards.
“With this deal, the process of returning ties to normal has begun”, Yildirim said.
“Regrettably, the goal of treating Israel fairly remains unfulfilled across a wide spectrum of United Nations activities and United Nations forums”, Netanyahu said.
Ban also condemned a recent wave of Palestinian attacks, which he called “terrorism”, and criticised the Israeli blockade against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
As Netanyahu and Kerry met for the second time in as many days, the US top diplomat welcomed the agreement and congratulated Netanyahu. Because of normalized relations, Turkey will likely become a customer of Israeli natural gas, and Netanyahu said the deal would have “immense implications for the Israeli economy”.
Two years ago, however, Hamas announced that it would “punish” Israel by banning fruit imports from Israel into Gaza.
Speaking during a trip to the besieged coastal enclave, Ban called the Israeli blockade “collective punishment for which there must be accountability”. In the past the armed forces of both countries have carried out joint exercises, while Israel used Turkey’s territory for surveillance and intelligence operations against Syria and Iran.
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Gaza s border with Egypt has also remained largely closed.
