After the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency broke the news on Tuesday, March 5, that Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, Turkey’s consul general in Jerusalem, will be accredited as Turkey’s ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, it became obvious that for the foreseeable future it will not be possible to speak of any kind of normalcy in Turkish-Israeli relations.
Two days after Ma’an's reporting, it looks like Ankara might steathily be trying to backtrack. Turkish diplomatic sources have told Al-Monitor that there has been no official appointment of an ambassador to Palestine, but at the same time they stressed that since the UN General Assembly decided on Nov. 29, 2012, to recognize the “State of Palestine,” having representation to Palestine would be a natural step to take. They insist that there is no reason to look for any deeper meaning, such as Turkey taking the opportunity to taunt Israel.