MV Mavi Marmara

The prosecutor in the Mavi Marmara case demanded its dismissal on Dec. 2, citing a reconciliation deal signed between Turkey and Israel, one day after Israel's new ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Na'eh, arrived in the Turkish capital to take up his post.

The prosecutor in the Mavi Marmara case demanded its dismissal on Dec. 2, citing a reconciliation deal signed between Turkey and Israel, one day after Israel's new ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Na'eh, arrived in the Turkish capital to take up his post.

A strong wind whipped up forest and bush fires across Israel and the West Bank on Nov. 24, causing the worst rash of fires since 2010 when the country suffered the single deadliest wildfire in history. 

Turkey had proposed to offer aid by sending firefighting aircraft to Israel, which Israel accepted. 

The Turkish-Israeli normalization process is continuing, albeit at a slow pace.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry nominated the deputy ambassador to Britain, Eitan Na'eh, as its new envoy to Turkey. 

Kemal Ökem, chief adviser on foreign policy to the prime minister, will be Turkey's first ambassador to Israel after a six-year split, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has nominated Eitan Na'eh as the new ambassador to Turkey, although the prospective envoy first needs to pass the Israeli government's security committee in order to be formally appointed to Ankara. 

The United States strongly supports a proposal to transport Israeli gas to Europe via Turkey with the side aim of ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East, John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Ankara, told Anadolu Agency on Oct. 13.      

Turkey and Israel will conclude the process of mutual appointment of ambassadors within a week or ten days at most, announced the spokesperson of Turkish President Erdogan, reported Reuters.

The exchange of ambassadors is a key step in the process of normalising bi-lateral relations. Earlier, the two countries agreed on deepening their co-operation in the energy sector.

Turkey and Israel are working to mutually appoint ambassadors "within a short period of time," the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated on Oct. 11.

As part of the normalization process with Israel, work to mutually appoint ambassadors is expected to be completed soon, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said when asked about the matter. 

The Israeli government on Sept. 30 paid $20 million in compensation to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara flotilla raid in 2010, which led to the suspension of diplomatic ties between the two countries before a reconciliation deal was reached earlier this year, private broadcaster CNN Türk has reported.