A breakthrough has been achieved in the negotiations between Israel and Turkey. Senior officials in Jerusalem said that only a dramatic event would prevent the sides from reaching full reconciliation agreement.
The latest bone of contention that still remains pertains to Hamas’s status in Turkey. Israel is no longer posing the removal of the Islamist Hamas as a condition, and is inclined to accept the Turkish compromise that the Palestinian terror group would not act against Israel from Turkish soil. Furthermore, the Ankara retracted their demand to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and understandings were reached according to which Turkey will build a power plant in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave and will be able to continue to transfer goods to the residents of Gaza.
Talks are being held by phone between the two countries, and another meeting of the negotiating teams is scheduled for the near future in which the last details are expected to be finalized, prior to an official announcement of a return to full normalization of relations, including a reinstatement of the ambassadors.