عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Turkey Says Ties with Israel Help Ease Palestinian Conflict

25 May 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to media after his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum. (dpa)
25 May 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to media after his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum. (dpa)
TT
TT

Turkey Says Ties with Israel Help Ease Palestinian Conflict

25 May 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to media after his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum. (dpa)
25 May 2022, Israel, Jerusalem: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to media after his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum. (dpa)

Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday that normalizing ties with Israel will help efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke in Jerusalem as part of the first visit by a senior Turkish official to Israel in 15 years. The trip comes as Israel and Turkey have worked to reset their relations after years of strained ties.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Cavusoglu said that "working on a positive agenda can also help us to address our disagreements in a more constructive manner." Communications between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart helped calm tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem during Ramadan, he added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the two countries "have always known how to return to dialogue and cooperation."

"Nations with long histories always know how to close one chapter and open a new one. That is what we are doing here today," he said.

Cavusoglu’s visit to Jerusalem followed a series of high level meetings with Palestinian officials in Ramallah, where he stated Turkey’s commitment to the Palestinians and their independence. The Turkish foreign minister said that he discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with both parties, and "we believe that the two-state solution with UN parameters is only the solution for a durable peace."

"We believe that normalization of our ties will also have a positive impact on peaceful resolution of the conflict," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday Cavusoglu visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, and was to pay a private visit to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Turkey and Israel were close allies, but relations grew tense under Erdogan, who is a vocal critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. The countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. The incident resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.

Turkey recalled its ambassador in 2018 after the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem, prompting Israel to respond in kind. The two countries have not reappointed their ambassadors.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
TT
TT

Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)

The Israeli military has announced the formation of a special rapid response unit in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to fend off threats from Syria, when necessary.

Commander of the 210th Bashan Division Lieutenant Colonel Yair Palai said the unit would operate as an effective attack force capable to launch in seconds and prevent threats on Israel similar to the one Hamas launched on October 7, 2023.

“The Unit will be prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of events,” he said.

“In the case of any security incident, the Unit will strike the enemy mercilessly. There is no possibility of failure, because this unit depends on constant vigilance,” Palai said.

The unit, which is comprised of elite soldiers from reconnaissance units and special reserve units, will operate under the 210th Division.

Sources said the unit has fully mobilized and operated continuously over the past three months.

Its goal was initially to counter Iranian, Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi or other militias that might operate from the Golan against Jewish settlements there.

But recent developments in Syria compelled the army to prepare for any additional threats.

Last week, Syrian army soldiers were killed in a major attack by opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest, forcing the military to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad in years.

On Tuesday, Haaretz said the Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian opposition assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the opposition fighters or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report said that after the country's civil war, Assad tried to rebuild his chemical weapons production facilities, with most having been removed from Syria under an international agreement. But a substantial part of the chemical weapons project, particularly the knowledge accumulated over the years, still remains in Assad's hands.

Haaretz wrote that Israel has relayed messages to the Syrian regime via the Russians insisting that Assad assert his sovereignty and bar Iran from operating from within Syria.

“The army is monitoring with concern the surprise Syrian rebel offensive on Assad strongholds in Syria that began last week,” it said.

Also, intelligence officials believe that while the Syrian president's standing has been weakened, Iran, with Russia's support, is exploiting the chaos in order to send in tens of thousands of fighters from the armed militias that support it.

According to Haaretz, the army's current estimate is that there are 40,000 Iranian militia fighters in Syria.

In tandem with the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been carrying out strikes almost daily on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to thwart attempts to smuggle weaponry destined for Hezbollah.

Although to date there is no firm evidence that the Iranian forces plan to station themselves in Damascus, the newspaper said one Israeli diplomatic official involved in the discussions referred to this on Sunday as a known fact. “Iran has begun to send an influx of forces into Syria in an attempt to aid Assad and suppress the revolt,” he said.