Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Israel wants to normalize relations with Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, the Turkish TV channel Kanal7 reported March 24.
He said that Israel has always maintained a policy of rapprochement with Turkey.
On March 23, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the first phone conversation in recent years with President of Israel Reuven Rivlin expressed Turkey's readiness to cooperate with Israel in the fight against terrorism.
Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010, when a convoy of six ships, including one under Turkey's flag, tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board. The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, with eight Turkish citizens being killed.
Earlier, Erdogan said Israel should apologize for the Freedom Flotilla incident, pay compensation to the families of those killed and end the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
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