TEL AVIV: Turkey’s diplomatic thaw with Israel will help the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday, in the first trip to Israel by Ankara’s top diplomat in 15 years. Cavusoglu, who met Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, was in Jerusalem as Turkey and Israel seek to mend ties following a breakdown that began during a military operation in Gaza.
Cavusoglu and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid stressed that economic ties had continued to grow despite years of acrimony between the two countries.
“We won’t pretend that our relationship has not seen its ups and downs,” Lapid said. “Even in times of political tension, economic cooperation between our countries has been constantly on the rise.”
Cavusoglu noted that Turkey was a top 10 trading partner for Israel and a major destination for Israeli tourists, voicing hope that deepening ties could yield benefits for Palestinians. “We believe that normalisation of our ties will have a positive impact on peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he said.
Cavusoglu claimed that dialogue between Turkish President Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog helped “maintain calm” this year that saw widespread clashes. “Turkey is ready to take responsibility to continue the efforts towards (Israeli-Palestinian) dialogue,” Cavusoglu said. - AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
