[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] Is Israel negotiating with Turkey to ease Gaza closure?

The World Bulletin reports:

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had vowed to "keep his promise" to work on easing Israel's eight-year-long siege of the Gaza Strip.

Trend.az reports:

Davutoglu added that Turkey is making progress to normalize relations with Israel, which have been tense since nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were killed by Israeli soldiers in 2010.

Israel's apology to Turkey last year marked the beginning of improvement of relations. Turkey is expecting "positive developments" in the coming days on its second requirement - compensation to the families - Davutoglu said. The third demand from Turkey is the lifting of the Gaza blockade.

Felesteen.ps amplified this a little, saying that Davutoglu said that the compensation negotiations have seen "significant progress" and that there are negotiations between Israel and Turkey on "lifting the siege" of Gaza.

It is significant that these statements are being made after the Turkish elections, when many assumed that the AKP-led government would harden its position on negotiating with Israel.

I would guess that Israel can help increase exports from Gaza - maybe to the West Bank - and perhaps allow some more construction materials into the sector with restrictions, but  I cannot see much more than that without severely compromising Israel's security.



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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 4/03/2014 10:30:00 AM