Israel and Turkey will restore full diplomatic ties, the leaders of both countries announced following a phone call on Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said they plan to reinstate their ambassadors, four years after both sides recalled their respective top envoys over disagreements about the Palestinian issue.
Lapid said they decided to “once again upgrade the level of the relations between the two countries to that of full diplomatic ties and to return ambassadors and consuls general from the two countries.” “The resumption of relations with Turkey is an important asset for regional stability and very important economic news for the citizens of Israel,” he told Erdoğan.
“Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties between the two peoples, expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and strengthening regional stability,” he added.
Erdoğan stressed during the call that Turkey is keen to reappoint its ambassador to Israel “as soon as possible.” He also said he favours improving ties with Israel “on a sustainable basis underpinned by mutual respect for sensitivities.”
Following my conversation with President @RTErdogan, Israel & Türkiye have decided to restore full diplomatic ties between our nations, including returning ambassadors.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 17, 2022
This will contribute not only to deepening our bilateral ties, but to strengthening regional stability. 🇮🇱 🇹🇷
Israeli President Isaac Herzog hailed the move as an “important development” that will “encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism, and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples.” He added, “Good neighbourly relations and the spirit of partnership in the Middle East are important for us all. Members of all faiths—Muslims, Jews, and Christians—can and must live together in peace.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, meanwhile, affirmed that improving ties with Israel does not mean Turkey is giving up on the Palestinian cause. “As we have always said, we will continue to defend the rights of Palestinians,” he stressed.
I just spoke with President @RTErdogan of Türkiye.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 17, 2022
We congratulated one another on the decision to fully renew our diplomatic ties.
🇮🇱 and 🇹🇷 are two key countries in the region. Bolstering our ties contributes to regional stability & brings tangible benefits for both nations.
“We will continue to defend the rights of Palestine, Jerusalem and Gaza, and it’s also important that we will be able to pass on our messages regarding this issue directly to Tel Aviv, at the ambassadorial level,” Çavuşoğlu added.
Relations between Israel and Turkey had remained tense since the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, when Israeli commandos forcibly boarded a Turkish flotilla on its way to the Gaza Strip and killed ten Turkish activists. Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and Turkey’s support for Hamas have also acted as major roadblocks to re-establishing normal relations.
Good neighborly relations and the spirit of partnership in the Middle East are important for us all. Members of all faiths—Muslims, Jews, and Christians—can and must live together in peace.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) August 17, 2022
Ties completely broke down in 2018 after Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel over ex-United States (US) President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Israel reciprocated by recalling its envoy to Ankara.
However, in recent times, Erdoğan has expressed his interest in improving ties with Israel and has taken several steps in this regard. In 2020, the Turkish President said that his country would like to have better relations with Israel, and in the following year, he held a phone call with Herzog to realise this goal.
2. On the optimism side, full Israeli-Turkish diplomatic relations continue -- and are probably encouraged by -- the trend of normalization between Israel and Arab states.
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) August 17, 2022
Furthermore, in November 2021, on Erdoğan’s orders, Turkey released an Israeli couple who were arrested on espionage charges.
In March this year, the Israeli President met with Erdoğan in Ankara, the first time an Israeli head of state has visited Turkey in over 14 years, and agreed to normalise ties.
Likewise, Çavuşoğlu travelled to Jerusalem in May, marking the first visit by a top Turkish official to Israel in 15 years. The following month, Lapid met with the Turkish FM in Ankara to announce joint Israeli-Turkish intelligence cooperation to thwart an Iranian plot to kidnap Israeli tourists from Istanbul.