The Turkish government announced late Friday the appointment of Sakir Ozkan Torunlar as the country’s new ambassador to Israel after a four-year absence in what is seen as the latest step in the full resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries that was announced in August, Turkish daily ‘Hurriyet’ reports.
The appointment by presidential decree of Torunlar, Turkey’s former consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, follows the appointment in September of an Israeli ambassador to Ankara, a sign of the full restoration of relations after a succession of crises that began in 2010 and ended to flare up in 2018.
Twelve years ago, Turkey unreservedly condemned an assault by Israeli forces on the Turkish ship ‘Mavi Marmara’, which was attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade and controlled by Hamas Islamists.
In May 2018, following the death of some fifty Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli Army in Gaza, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv and expelled the Israeli ambassador to Ankara, as well as the Israeli consul general in Istanbul. Israel retaliated by sending the Turkish consul general back to Jerusalem.
