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AK Party Says Turkey, Israel Want to Improve Strained Relations after Presidents’ Call

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
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AK Party Says Turkey, Israel Want to Improve Strained Relations after Presidents’ Call

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Turkey and Israel have agreed to work toward improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Wednesday.

The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which rules Gaza.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, on Monday to congratulate him on taking office, according to Reuters.

Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial office.

“A framework emerged after this call under which advances should be made on several issues where improvements can be made, and where steps towards solving problematic areas should be taken,” spokesman Omer Celik said after an AK Party meeting.

Celik singled out the Palestinians as one of many issues Turkey wants to discuss with Israel, adding that areas such as tourism and trade should be a “win-win” for both nations. Bilateral trade has remained strong amid the political disputes.

During the call, which came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Ankara, Erdogan told Herzog he valued maintaining dialogue and said Turkish-Israeli relations were key for regional stability.

Erdogan also reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding “positive steps” would also help Turkey’s ties with Israel, his office said.

In May, Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” after Israeli police shot rubber bullets and stun grenades toward Palestinian youths at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

Israel accuses Turkey of aiding members of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies.

Turkey has also recently been trying to repair its frayed ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Monday’s call came a month after Naftali Bennett became Israeli prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Erdogan had frequently traded barbs.

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World

Officials: Torrential Rains in Kenya Kill 81 in March

Officials: Torrential Rains in Kenya Kill 81 in March
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Officials: Torrential Rains in Kenya Kill 81 in March

Officials: Torrential Rains in Kenya Kill 81 in March

Torrential storms that have triggered flash floods in Kenya have killed at least 81 people this month, authorities said Sunday, as rain continued to pound much of the country.

"The cumulative number of fatalities has unfortunately risen to 81," national police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga said in a statement.

"Additionally, flash floods have swept through several areas, displacing approximately 2,690 families and causing widespread destruction of infrastructure and property."

The capital Nairobi is the hardest-hit region, with 37 people killed, he said.

On Friday night, authorities called on residents to evacuate several slum neighborhoods downstream from the Nairobi dam, warning of an imminent risk of flooding as rising water levels threatened to breach the dam embankment, according to local media.

The dam has held so far.

Two people drowned overnight in floods in the town of Kiambu, just outside the capital, police told AFP.

Two also died as landslides hit the western village of Kasaka, burying numerous homes, reported private broadcaster Citizen TV.

The rain is forecast to continue until Tuesday.

Authorities called for "extreme caution".

The March rains have repeatedly turned Nairobi streets to raging rivers, flooding thousands of homes and businesses.

Critics have called for the resignation of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who had vowed to improve the capital's drainage and road infrastructure when he took office in 2022.

Scientists say human-caused climate change is increasing the probability, length and severity of extreme weather events.

Studies indicate east Africa has been hit by more extreme rains and droughts over the past two decades.

World

1 Dead in Istanbul after Gas Explosion Collapses 2 Buildings

Police secure the way to a site where two residential buildings collapsed in Istanbul, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Police secure the way to a site where two residential buildings collapsed in Istanbul, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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1 Dead in Istanbul after Gas Explosion Collapses 2 Buildings

Police secure the way to a site where two residential buildings collapsed in Istanbul, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Police secure the way to a site where two residential buildings collapsed in Istanbul, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A natural gas explosion in Istanbul’s central Fatih district brought down two buildings on Sunday, killing one person.

Search and rescue personnel pulled out 10 injured who were hospitalized, including one in critical condition, according to a statement by the Istanbul Governor’s office.

The governor, Davut Gul, visited the site of the explosion and checked on survivors at the hospital.

One of the collapsed buildings had two stories, the other one.

World

Iran Threatens to Retaliate against Gulf Energy and Water after Trump Ultimatum

epa12835579 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, in Ras Laffan, Qatar, 25 February 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). Qatar has said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City have caused significant damage to the natural gas industrial complex, located approximately 80 km north-east of Doha. It is operated by Qatar Energy and employs around 115,000 people according to the company. EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE
epa12835579 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, in Ras Laffan, Qatar, 25 February 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). Qatar has said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City have caused significant damage to the natural gas industrial complex, located approximately 80 km north-east of Doha. It is operated by Qatar Energy and employs around 115,000 people according to the company. EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE
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Iran Threatens to Retaliate against Gulf Energy and Water after Trump Ultimatum

epa12835579 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, in Ras Laffan, Qatar, 25 February 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). Qatar has said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City have caused significant damage to the natural gas industrial complex, located approximately 80 km north-east of Doha. It is operated by Qatar Energy and employs around 115,000 people according to the company. EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE
epa12835579 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, in Ras Laffan, Qatar, 25 February 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). Qatar has said Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City have caused significant damage to the natural gas industrial complex, located approximately 80 km north-east of Doha. It is operated by Qatar Energy and employs around 115,000 people according to the company. EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE

Iran said on Sunday it would strike the energy and water systems of its Gulf neighbors in retaliation if US President Donald Trump follows through with a threat to hit Iran's electricity grid in 48 hours, escalating the three-week-old war.

The prospect of tit-for-tat strikes on civilian infrastructure could deepen the regional crisis and rattle global markets when they reopen on Monday morning, Reuters reported.

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel from the early hours of Sunday, warning of incoming missiles from Iran, after scores of people were hurt overnight in two separate attacks in the southern Israeli towns of Arad and Dimona.

The Israeli military said hours later that it was striking Tehran in response.

Trump threatened overnight to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the war. He made the new threat as US Marines and heavy landing craft are heading to the region.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Middle East could be "irreversibly destroyed" should Iranian power plants be attacked.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said it would also mean the shipping lane where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits along Iran's southern coast would remain shut.

"The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt," the Guards said in a statement.

"President Trump's threat has now placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, who expects stock markets to fall when they reopen on Monday.

Oil prices jumped on Friday, ending the day at their highest in nearly four years.

Markets already under severe strain from blockaded shipping were further rattled last week when Israel attacked a major gas field in Iran, and Tehran responded with strikes on neighbors Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, raising the prospect of damage hindering energy output even if tankers resume sailing.

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing the worst oil crisis since the 1970s. Its near-closure sent European gas prices surging as much as 35% last week.

"If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" Trump posted on social media around 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT) on Saturday.

Iranian media quoted the country's representative to the International Maritime Organisation as saying the strait remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to "Iran's enemies".

Ali Mousavi said passage through the waterway was possible by coordinating security and safety arrangements with Tehran.

Ship-tracking data shows some vessels, such as Indian-flagged ships and a Pakistani oil tanker, have negotiated safe passage through the strait. But the vast majority of ships have remained holed up inside.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said on Sunday if the US hit Iran's fuel and energy infrastructure, Iran would attack all US energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure in the region.

Striking major Iranian power plants could trigger blackouts, crippling everything from pumps and refineries to export terminals and military command centres.