http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-applauds-call-between-israeli-turkish-prime-ministers/3/22/13
Israel, Turkey to normalize ties, after PM apologizes for flotilla deaths
In dramatic phone call, Erdogan accepts Netanyahu’s apology over loss of life in the Mavi Marmara raid; Obama brokers reconciliation minutes before leaving IsraelIn a dramatic reconciliation urged and brokered by President Barack Obama shortly before he left Israel on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone and agreed to end three years of frozen relations.
In the call, Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish people “for any errors that could have led to loss of life” in the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, “and agreed to complete the agreement on compensation,” his office later said in a statement. Erdogan reportedly said he accepted the Israeli apology.
In the first conversation between the leaders since 2009, Netanyahu made it clear that the tragic consequences of the Mavi Marmara flotilla interception — in which nine Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli naval commandos who had come under attack as they sought to commandeer the Gaza-bound vessel — were unintentional.
The leaders agreed to return their respective ambassadors and pledged to overcome differences.
Erdogan also “withdrew” recent comments calling Zionism a crime against humanity, though he did not apologize for them, an informed source said.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two men agreed to restore normalization between Israel and Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against IDF soldiers,” Netanyahu’s office said in the statement.
Netanyahu told Erdogan that he had “good talks” with Obama “on the issue of regional cooperation and the importance of Israeli-Turkish relations. The prime minister expressed regret over the deterioration in bilateral relations [with Turkey] and noted his commitment to working out the disagreements in order to advance peace and regional stability,” the statement added.
“The prime minister made it clear that the tragic results regarding the Mavi Marmara were unintentional and that Israel expresses regret over injuries and loss of life. In light of the Israeli investigation into the incident, which pointed out several operational errors, Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to loss of life and agreed to complete the agreement on compensation,” the statement continued.
Netanyahu “also noted that Israel has already lifted several restrictions on the movement of civilians and goods to all of the Palestinian territories, including Gaza, and added that this will continue as long as the quiet is maintained. The two leaders agreed to continue to work on improving the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories,” the statement concluded.
Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations unraveled in recent years, exacerbated in 2010 by the Israeli interception of the Mavi Marmara as it sought to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Turkey had conditioned warmer ties on an Israeli apology and compensation.
The reconciliation took place shortly before Obama completed his three-day visit to Israel, in a call from Ben-Gurion Airport.
Initially Obama spoke to Erdogan, reports said, and then he handed the phone to Netanyahu. The US had indicated for some time that it saw an imperative for Israel and Turkey to heal the rift between them, especially given the regional challenges posed by Iran’s nuclear drive and the raging civil war in Syria.
Secretary of State John Kerry had laid the groundwork for the call earlier, and Netanyahu had told IDF Chief of the General Staff Benny Gantz and his Cabinet colleagues that the move was imminent.