The World Briefly
August 18, 2022Friends, Again
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Israel and Turkey will restore full diplomatic ties, four years after the two regional powers severed relations following the United States’ decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem, France 24 reported Wednesday.
Israeli and Turkish officials said Wednesday they agreed to upgrade their relations to full diplomatic representation and reappoint ambassadors.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have had their ups and downs over the past decade, Axios wrote. But they took a nosedive in 2018 after 60 Palestinians were killed on the Gaza border by Israeli troops during demonstrations protesting the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
Both countries expelled the others’ ambassadors at the time.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the move will strengthen regional stability, while Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hailed the return of ambassadors as “important to improving bilateral ties.”
Over the past few years, both countries have been seeking to improve ties with other regional actors. Israel has normalized relations through the 2020 Abraham Accords with a number of Arab countries, including Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Turkey has launched rapprochement efforts with other estranged rivals, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Even so, Cavusoglu said that the decision to restore diplomatic relations did not mean that Ankara would abandon its support for Palestinians.
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