ISRAEL AND TURKEY HAIL NEW ERA IN RELATIONS, DESPITE SHARP DIFFERENCES

Following more than a decade of diplomatic strife, Israel and Turkey have hailed a new era in relations as Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid a historic visit to Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

Herzog’s visit to Turkey, which included talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, was the first by an Israeli president since Shimon Peres addressed the Turkish parliament in 2007.

Following the talks, Erdogan appeared in front of the cameras and described Israeli president’s visit as “historic” and “a turning point” in Turkish-Israeli ties. He stated that Turkey was willing to work with Israel in the energy sector, and that the Turkish foreign and energy ministers would be visiting Israel soon for further discussions on increased cooperation.

“Our common goal is to revitalise political dialogue between our countries based on common interests and respect for mutual sensitivities,” Erdogan said

The visit was a “very important moment for the relations between our countries, and a great honour for the two of us to lay the foundations of developing friendly relations between our countries and nations, and to build bridges essential to us all”, Herzog said in a statement in Hebrew.

Both leaders conceded, however, that differences remain — not least on the issue of the Palestinians.

“We expressed the importance we attach to reducing tensions in the region and preserving the vision of a two-state solution,” Erdogan said. “I underlined the importance we attach to the historical status of Jerusalem and the preservation of the religious identity and sanctity of Masjid Aqsa,” the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s historic Old City.

Israel captured East Jerusalem with its Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites — the emotional ground zero of the more than century-long conflict — in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move unrecognised by most of the international community. The Palestinian leadership has often sought East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state including the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“We must agree in advance that we will not agree on everything, that is the nature of relations with a past as rich as ours,” Herzog said. “But the disagreements we will aspire to resolve with mutual respect and openness, through the proper mechanisms and systems, with a view to a shared future,” he said.

Ankara has close ties with Hamas, the Gaza Strip’s ruling party. Hamas has been recognized as a “terrorist” organization by the United States and the European Union.

And despite visibly toning down its criticism of Israel in advance of Herzog’s visit, Ankara has ruled out abandoning its commitment to supporting Palestinian statehood.

Turkey has been attempting to overcome its international isolation by improving strained ties with various nations in the area, particularly Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, as a result of its economic challenges.

Protest Over Herzog Visit 

Around 150 demonstrators joined a protest in Istanbul on Wednesday against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Turkey amid thawing relations between the two countries.

The protesters were comprised of various pro-Islamist groups. Notable among them were the IHH, an international humanitarian relief foundation whose members are pre-dominantly Turkish pro-Islamists and the Mavi Marmara Freedom and Solidarity Association, a foundation built in dedication of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke an Israeli blockade in 2010.