Following months of bargaining over compensation for pro-Palestinian Turkish activists killed by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, Turkey and Israel appear close to a deal that could pave the way to normalized relations in the near future. This development comes almost a year after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from President Barack Obama, apologized to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara raid.

Ankara accepted the apology, but then appeared to be in no a rush to normalize relations, leaving US and Israel officials wondering whether Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sincere about re-establishing ties with the Jewish state. Developments in the Middle East, however, especially in Syria, which is going haywire for Turkey, are clearly weighing on Ankara and forcing its hand.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, who's coordinating the compensation talks with Israel, has said that he “feels a settlement is close.” Arinc, answering reporters’ questions in Ankara Feb. 3, reiterated, however, that one of Turkey’s demands is that Israel lift its siege on Gaza. He said that while Israel was permitting certain goods and medicines into the Palestinian enclave, it had not fully lifted the blockade. “We are not at the [place] where we can put down our signature yet,” Arinc asserted. He also said that both the United States and Israel were keen on an agreement. Diplomatic sources have told Al-Monitor that if a compensation deal is agreed on, Ankara will likely soften its demand regarding Gaza.

Meanwhile, in another sign that Ankara is looking to rebuild bridges, not just with Israel but also with the Jewish Diaspora, the Erdogan government authorized the Foreign Ministry to send a high-level representative to this year’s Holocaust commemorations, held Jan. 27 in Istanbul. The Foreign Ministry said in a Jan. 26 statement that Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru would represent Turkey at the event, which was jointly organized by Istanbul’s Jewish community and Kadir Has University. The statement added that the commemoration aims “to raise consciousness, particularly among the young generation, about the Holocaust and the crimes against humanity by reminding the public of the importance of this issue.”