Israel rejects third condition for normalisation of relations with Turkey

Israel has agreed to two out of three conditions set forth by Ankara for the normalisation of relations between the two countries, however it has refuses to lift the siege on Gaza, Turkey’s deputy prime minister has said.

Numan Kurtulmus told reporters following the weekly cabinet session that his country has set three conditions for normalising relations with Israel and restoring ties to pre-2010 levels: the first is for Israel to make a formal apology for the storming of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara ship by Israeli forces and the killing of 11 of its passengers; the second is to compensate the victims’ families; and the third is to end the naval and air blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In 2010, the Israeli naval forces stormed the Mavi Marmara ship, carrying activists and politicians from several countries to the Gaza Strip. Prominent figures who were on board the flotilla included Arab Member of Knesset Haneen Zoubi, among others.

Israeli soldiers killed 11 Turkish activists, which led to diplomatic relations between the two countries being severed.