Israeli PM: Syria crisis necessitates normalization of ties with Turkey

The worsening crisis in Syria necessitated the normalization of Israel's relations with Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday evening. "It is important that Turkey and Israel, that both border with Syria, could communicate with each other," Netanyahu wrote, noting the restoration of ties is also needed to deal with other regional challenges. "The constantly changing reality around us forces us to reexamine our relations with countries in the region all the time," the prime minister said. "Syria is crumbling, and its massive and advanced weapons arsenal are starting to fall into the hands of different factions. The biggest risk is (its) chemical weapons falling into the hands of terror organizations," he added. [ Israel has warned repeatedly that it will launch military strikes on the site where Syria's chemical weapons are stored before the deadly weapons fall into the hands of extremists. Netanyahu on Friday phoned his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and apologized for an Israeli naval raid three years ago in which nine Turkish nationals were killed, with the two leaders agreeing to normalize bilateral relations, Netanyahu's office said. The dramatic announcement came shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama departed Israel at the end of a three-day visit. Turkey severed diplomatic and security ties with Israel after nine of its citizens were killed in May 2010 during a violent confrontation with Israeli commandos onboard the Mavi Marmara, part of an international six-vessel flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists who sought to breach the maritime blockade Israel imposes on the Gaza Strip. The conversation between Netanyahu and Erdogan was the first since the former began his second term as premier in 2009.