Netanyahu to visit Turkey next week, first by an Israeli PM in 15 years, two days after Palestinian leader

Leaders of arch-rival nations Israel and Palestine will travel to Turkey in the course of the same week, the Turkish presidency confirmed Thursday (July 20). 

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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is due to visit Turkey on July 25, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will arrive in Ankara a few days later. Both leaders will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will welcome the Palestinian [Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Turkey in the course of the same week,” the Turkish presidency said.

Netanyahu’s office also confirmed the visit, the first by any Israeli prime minister in 15 years. The last visit was in 2008 by Ehud Olmert.

Earlier engagements between Israeli and Turkish leaders

Relations between Israel and Turkey have remained strained since 2010; however, signs of a thaw have emerged over the past year. 

Last year, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Erdogan in Turkey. Later, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid met the Turkish leader in New York.

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The upcoming visit by Netanyahu comes at a time when the West Bank is witnessing the worst outbreak of violence in decades.

In April this year, Erdogan declared Israel had crossed the red line after Israeli police clashed with Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Brief timeline of Israeli-Turkish relations

In 2010, the already delicate relations between Turkey and Israel were further strained following a tragic incident in which Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish ship. 

The aftermath of this event led to a significant downgrade in diplomatic ties that persisted for over half a decade.

Fast forward to May 2018, tensions reached a boiling point when Turkey decided to recall its ambassador to Israel. The move came in response to the tragic events that unfolded in Gaza, where about 60 Palestinians lost their lives during a rally against Israel’s perceived ‘illegal’ blockade of the coastal enclave.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was vocal in his condemnation of Israel’s actions. He accused the country of resorting to “state terror” and even went so far as to label it as an “apartheid state.” Such strong words further deepened the animosity between the two nations.

In response to Turkey’s actions, Israel retaliated by expelling the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem. This tit-for-tat approach only served to deepen the rift between the two countries, escalating an already volatile situation.