Israel to pay Turkey tens of millions over Gaza flotilla deaths, sources say

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Israel will transfer the amount to a humanitarian fund set up by Turkish government to compensate for deaths of Turkish activists on Mavi Maramara in 2010; Turkish diplomat says U.S. pressuring Erdogan not to visit Gaza, West Bank.

By Zvi Bar'el | Mar.26, 2013 | 2:32 PM

In the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology Friday to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard the 2010 Gaza flotilla, the two countries have set the wheels in motion to pay compensation over the deaths, with Israel set to pay out as much as tens of millions of dollars, according to sources in Turkey.

High-level diplomatic contact between the two countries began on Monday when Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni over the establishment of a joint committee that will formulate the terms of Israel's agreement to pay compensation.

The vice prime minister of Turkey, Bulent Arinc, told journalists on Monday that both sides agreed to establish a joint high-level committee over the coming days to discuss the details of the compensation transfer.

Beyond the technical and legal questions over the compensation payments, the waiver of the legal claims and the extent of the blockade on Gaza, the Palestinian issue – rather than the Syrian one – will continue to be the focus of future relations between the two countries. The Turkish foreign minister made int clear during Tuesday’s Arab League summit in Doha that Turkey will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and will act in order to end Israeli occupation. In Turkey, they estimate that the three-year long rift caused by the “Palestinian question” now gives Turkey leverage, and that the nature of the relationship between it and Israel will be largely dependent upon Israel’s behavior towards the Palestinians.

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