Israel to lift siege on Gaza to restore Turkish relations

Israel will pay $21 million in compensation and lift the Gaza siege to restore relations with Turkey after the Mavi Marmara raid that left nine Turkish nationals dead, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported today.

A Turkish official told the newspaper that both Turkey and Israel will focus on reaching a binding legal resolution on the payment of reparations following Turkey’s local elections that will be held on March 30.

He said: “The official document will then be sent to the Turkish Grand National Assembly for approval.”

Previously, Israel said it would pay $20 million in reparation, but Turkey insisted the amount needed was $21 million. The newspaper said Turkey’s demand has now been fulfilled.

The newspaper also reported that the agreement would guarantee lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip. It said: “Turkey will be exclusively authorised to send humanitarian aid supplies to Palestine and Gaza.”

According to the newspaper, Turkish officials claimed the agreement was multidimensional and the reparations were only a single aspect of the agreement.

It also added: “The agreement sets forth the establishment of an order to permit Turkey to send humanitarian assistance to Gaza at its own discretion and the appointment of an ambassador to establish this order.”