He’s said it before, but maybe it’ll really happen this time.
Turkey’s powerful Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to travel to Gaza as soon as possible, to ensure Israel would keep a promise to ease its blockade in the Palestinian enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise phone call to Mr. Erdogan on Friday and apologized for a deadly raid on a Turkish aid flotilla by Israeli security forces in 2010. During the call monitored by U.S. President Barack Obama, he also promised to compensate the victims’ families and relax Israel’s Gaza blockade. The diplomatic move was sealed during the visit of Mr. Obama to Israel last week, and hailed as the first step in normalizing Turkish-Israeli relations.
Mr. Erdogan, speaking to lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party, said he’s planning to join a journey by Turkish aid agencies to Palestinian territories Gaza and the West Bank. The premier said he would check to see for himself that Israel will keep its pledge. Read More »