On March 25, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc made the unexpected announcement that after almost four years, the normalization of the ties between Turkey and Israel is near.
“A compensation deal with Israel over the Mavi Marmara raid is likely to be signed after the March 30 local elections,” he said. “The first task after the elections will be to complete the compensation issue as a legal document. After that, the document will be sent to parliament for [final] approval.” However, Israel’s decision on April 23 to suspend the peace talks with the Palestinians in reaction to the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas is likely to have an adverse impact on a potential revival of political breakthrough with the Turkish government.
