After some deadly attack on Palestinians in besieged Gaza, Turkey withdrew its envoy from Israel in 2018. On Tuesday after about two years Turkey has appointed a new ambassador to Israel.
According to a report by A Monitor published last week, the new Turkish ambassador Ufuk Ulutas is appointed as an attempt to please the President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
The new ambassador Ulutas has studied Hebrew and Middle Eastern politics in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is an expert on Israel’s regional rival, Iran, but is not a career diplomat. The report calls Ulutas “Very Polished”, “Very Clever” and “very pro- Palestinian”.
It was in 2010 that Turkey broke ties with Israel the first time, After 10 pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who boarded a Turkish-owned flotilla trying to deliver aid and break Israel’s years-long maritime blockade of Gaza.
This new appointment comes after many Arab countries have decided to better their ties with Israel such as Bahrain, UAE, Sudan and Morocco. The new Arab Israel deals were slammed by the Palestanian leadership who saw it as a betrayal to the Muslim cause. Turkish president also was one of the world leader who criticized the Arab UAE and Trump Middle east plan and is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause in the Muslim world.
This appointment indicates an opening for Turkish and Israeli Diplomatic ties. Many a times Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have often exchanged angry remarks, with Erdogan calling Netanyahu a “terrorist” in response to Netanyahu’s comments rejecting Ankara’s “moral lessons” over the Israeli army’s killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza and labelling Erdogan as someone who “bombs Kurdish villagers”.
