Ankara: Turkey’s parliament has ratified a reconciliation deal reached with Israel last month, ending a six-year rift and paving the way for the restoration of full diplomatic ties.
Parliament voted to approve the pact early today before it closed for a summer recess.
Relations between the former allies imploded in 2010 following an Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid ship trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The raid killed 10 Turkish activists.
Under the terms of the reconciliation agreement, Israel will pay a “lump sum” of USD 20 million in compensation to the victims within 25 days.
Individual Israeli nationals also would not be held criminally or financially liable for the incident.
The Israeli Cabinet has already approved the deal.
PTI
