| Under the rules of hudna, this must end before ten years are up. |
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s parliament ratified a reconciliation deal reached with Israel last month, the country’s deputy prime minister indicated Saturday that he intended to travel to the Jewish state in the near future.
"The reconciliation agreement with Israel is good for Turkey and for the entire region," Mehmet Simsek said, according to the Ynet news website. "I expect to visit Israel during my next round of international visits."
The Turkish parliament voted to approve the pact early Saturday, just before it closed for a summer recess, ending a six-year rift and paving the way for the restoration of full diplomatic ties.
Israel on Saturday night praised the Turkish move, with the Prime Minister’s Office issuing an official statement expressing hopes for the swift implementation of the agreement.
"Israel welcomes the ratification of the agreement by the Turkish parliament, and anticipates the continued implementation [of the deal], including the [mutual] return of ambassadors," the statement said.
Relations between the former allies imploded in 2010 following an Israeli naval raid on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish aid ship trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-controlled Gazoo Strip. The raid left 10 Turks dead and several IDF soldiers maimed.
Under the terms of the reconciliation agreement, Israel will pay a "lump sum" of $20 million in compensation to the victims within 25 days.
| So it -- whatever it is, though nobody seems to be calling it a peace treaty -- should last that long. |
Israel had already offered compensation and an apology over the raid several years ago, but with the agreement it also eased slightly its part in the blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gazoo Strip, transferring humanitarian aid
from Ankara through Israel’s border crossings with the Strip.The Israeli Cabinet has already approved the deal.
| Hurriyet adds: |
| How much will it cost the government to administer that fund? |