In March 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to apologize for the Mavi Marmara raid. This was the first time Israel apologized to a foreign state in its history.
With this agreement, Israel agreed on Turkey's second stipulation. Accordingly, it will pay compensation to the families of the victims of the Mavi Marmara raid. The third condition is that Israel eliminates the blockade on Gaza.
Turkey succeeded to a large extent in this. According to media reports, as part of the agreement, "Turkey will take materials with civilian purposes, including humanitarian aid, to Gaza and make infrastructure investments there. It will construct houses for Gazan people and put the 200-bed Turkey-Palestine Friendship Hospital into service soon." Moreover, Turkey will build a power plant to meet Gaza's energy requirements.
It will also establish a water treatment plant to purify seawater with the objective of resolving the drinking water problem there. Currently, the amount of electricity and water to be provided to Gaza will increase. Additionally, an industrial zone in Jenin and similar comprehensive projects in the West Bank will be realized.
As the terms of the agreement offend Israel, which has never reconciled with any country or apologized to any country so far, Zionist media outlets either publish headlines, saying Israel is surrendering, or news reports that insult Turkey in order to relieve the Israeli public. Refuting these reports, it was announced that any article that would restrict the activities of Hamas's authorities in Turkey was not cited in the agreement text.
Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader, in an interview one-and-half years ago said: "Things seem worse than before. It seems the U.N. turns a hand to the matter, but we know that they are in cooperation with Israel. Their projects mostly aim to pressure us. They have not made the slightest contribution. They have not realized any construction or repair work. Construction materials are not let through. Tents they distributed drift in the rain. The U.N. does not do anything in Gaza now. Gaza is completely destroyed. Financial difficulties are at the highest level."
The situation in Gaza is no different at the moment. Following Erdoğan's "one minute" response to then Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Mavi Marmara raid, not only were relations between Turkey and Israel broken, but all channels of supporting Gaza were also closed. Support initiatives and projects for Palestine, especially for Gaza, are at the core of the agreement. This is why Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri three days ago said: "We are proud of Turkey's stance on Palestine." Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Khaled Mashal congratulated Turkey's insistence on the removal of the blockade on Gaza and Hamas issued an official statement thanking Turkey for protecting the Gazan public.
Although only a few leaders from Turkey and the Arab world have embraced Palestine as much as Erdoğan since Sultan Abdülhamid II, some want to hold Erdoğan responsible for the century-old Palestine cause. Those who have questions about the present agreement must listen to the Gazan people and their legitimate representatives.
