Israel and Turkey will expand bilateral airline traffic under a new aviation deal to be signed on Thursday, their first since 1951, Reuters reported, citing Israel’s Transportation Ministry.
“The agreement is expected to result in the resumption of flights by Israeli companies to a variety of destinations in Turkey, alongside flights by Turkish companies to Israel,” it said in a statement.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara in March to rebuild relations with his Turkish counterpart, with both leaders proclaiming a new era following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture.
Relations between Turkey and Israel began to fray following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008. Ties then froze following the death of 10 civilians in an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara, part of a Turkish flotilla attempting to breach a blockade by carrying aid into Gaza in 2010.
A 2016 reconciliation agreement that saw the return of ambassadors all but collapsed in 2018 in the wake of Gaza border clashes that killed dozens of Palestinians.
Following the 2018 Gaza bloodshed, Turkey recalled its diplomats and ordered Israel’s envoy out of the country.
The countries are now considering reappointing ambassadors.
