ANKARA, Turkey — 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 on Saturday 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 left 10 Turks dead and several IDF soldiers wounded.
Under the terms of the reconciliation agreement, Israel will pay a “lump sum” of $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. READ MORE
