Turkey, Israel to exchange ambassadors in few weeks: Israeli diplomat

Turkey and Israel will exchange ambassadors within the next few weeks after a recent reconciliation deal between the two countries, Amira Oron, Israel's charge d'affaires in Ankara, said on Monday.

Oron told Anadolu Agency that the Turkish parliament's approval of the deal was a critical phase in restoring links between the two nations.

"We have reached a good result," Oron said. "It will be a good start and a basis for our relationship to continue."

"After all the necessary procedures are complete, we, actually, are at the beginning of the normalization process," she said.

The senior diplomat identified the economy, energy and information-sharing as the three most significant aspects in normalizing ties and said trade between the countries could reach 8 billion U.S. dollars.

Relations between Turkey and Israel soured in 2010 after Israeli navy forces raided an aid flotilla, killing 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists who tried to sail to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Under the new normalization deal, Israel will pay out 20 million U.S. dollars to the bereaved and injured in compensation.

Israeli soldiers will be exempted from legal and criminal responsibility and Israeli nationals also would not be held criminally or financially in connection with the incident.

Source : XINHUA