A spokesperson for Erdoğan says reconciliation with Israel cannot be reached with blockade on Gaza
The conflict between Turkey and Israel seems to have come to an end after new developments in the Middle East in specific, based on recent reports.
However there still seems to be some major issues before a happy end can be reached. In fact, the blockade of Israel on Gaza is of priority among such issues.
To confirm this fact, the spokesperson for President Erdogan said on Monday that reconciliation with Israel cannot be reached unless the blockade on Gaza is lifted. Ibrahim KALIN said at a press conference that the Turkish demand needs to be addressed first.
The remarks came after report published on Monday, quoting a senior Turkish official, said that Israel and Turkey could be two weeks away from resolving the crisis and reaching a reconciliation agreement.
A Turkish official privy to the negotiations between Israel and Turkey also said that one of the main issues still in dispute is Israel’s response to the Turkish demand to allow it to send a power generator ship to the Gaza coast to supply electricity to the enclave. “Turkey and Israel do not agree 100 percent,” the official was quoted as saying. “There are still certain hurdles we must overcome.”
According to the official, the next meeting will be the final round of negotiations in which Israel will respond to the Turkish request.
“It is extremely unlikely for the final meeting to not produce any results,” he reportedly said. “Neither side wants this to continue for much longer. If Israel agrees to Turkey sending a power ship to the Eastern Mediterranean, respective ambassadors will start serving in Ankara and Tel Aviv in no time.”
However, a senior Israeli official denied the Turkish official’s assertion. “The issue of sending power-generating ships never came up during the last rounds of negotiations,” he said.
According to the Turkish official, Ankara has withdrawn most of its demands concerning Gaza and settled for an Israeli commitment to ease the blockade and allow humanitarian aid into the Strip, which are already in place today.
Editor
SOURCE: MEDIA
