After many years of tensions, Türkiye-Israel relations have turned a new leaf. The Israeli Cabinet approved the aviation agreement, which was on the agenda for the last two months, and marks the cornerstone of normalizing the relations.
Israeli airlines have not been flying to Türkiye for 15 years, and now after a long time, they will be departing and arriving from and at Istanbul Airport, one of the biggest aviation hubs in the world today.
It is diplomatically as well as economically very important for Israel, which will also contribute to the prosperity of the region.
Nobody gains from struggle; it is a huge way to solve the problems through constructive diplomacy, which Türkiye has been trying to do with many other countries in the region for the last couple of months.
Israel and Türkiye signed a bilateral civil aviation agreement. I should note that Türkiye is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Israeli citizens. I passed by Haifa and Tel Aviv this summer on a cruise trip and witnessed the enthusiasm among the Israelis to travel to Türkiye when I had the opportunity to talk to them during my travel. So it will be cheaper and easier for them to come to Türkiye with the Israeli airlines flying between the two countries, which will also economically benefit both parties.
Ankara and Tel Aviv withdrew their respective ambassadors in 2010 after the Mavi Marmara incident, where Israeli forces stormed a flotilla called Mavi Marmara headed to Gaza with humanitarian aid for Palestinians. Nine Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli bullets, which was a shock for Türkiye, and with this tragic incident, the relations kind of severed.
However, with time steps are taken from both sides to communicate e again. Here I should mention the efforts of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. He is following dialogue diplomacy, which marks Türkiye’s multipolar foreign policy line and the two countries managed to announce the restoration of full diplomatic ties with each other on Aug. 18, 2022.
The ambassadors in Ankara and Tel-Aviv were reappointed and a new chapter began.
I should point out that this normalization does not mean a change in Turkish policy toward Palestinians. Ankara continues to support Palestinians and stands against any brutality coming from the Israeli state toward them. That is openly made clear by Çavuşoğlu’s statement which said that “we will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians.”
