File Photo: Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a news conference as he meets Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Turkey, June 23, 2022. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
JERUSALEM: Israel and Turkey will restore full diplomatic relations and dispatch ambassadors for the first time in years, the latest step in months of reconciliation between the two countries, the Israeli prime minister's office said on Wednesday.
The two countries, once friendly, had a more than decadelong falling out, but earlier this year Israel and Turkey began a process of rapprochement.
The countries withdrew their respective ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke an Israeli blockade. The incident resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed the decision to reappoint ambassadors and said Ankara would be sending its ambassador to Tel Aviv. He said however, that Turkey would continue to support the Palestinians despite the normalization process with Israel.
"A dialogue process began with Israel after the new government took office," Cavusoglu told reporters. "The appointment of ambassadors was among the steps we said we would take to normalize relations.”
"We will continue to defend the rights of Palestine, Jerusalem and Gaza," he added.
