Senior Turkish officials traditionally visit Palestinian territories whenever they pay a visit to Israel. Yet, Israeli officials seem to prefer that Davutoğlu not visit Israel if he insists on also going to the Palestinian territories, CNN-Türk has said. Neither Turkish Foreign Ministry officials nor Israeli Embassy officials were immediately available for comment on the issue as of yesterday.
If it takes place, Davutoğlu's visit to Israel will be the highest-level visit between the two countries since relations between Turkey and Israel, regional allies who cooperate particularly in the military and defense arena, were strained after the Israeli army launched a deadly offensive in Gaza last December, leaving more than 1,300 people dead.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walked out of a World Economic Forum session in Davos, Switzerland, in late January after an angry exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres over the Gaza operation. But tension later subsided and dialogue between the two countries has been restored. In June, then-Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, who is now Turkey's permanent representative to the UN, visited Israel. Apakan then held talks on political and economic cooperation with Yossi Gal, director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry. The senior officials agreed that relations between the two countries should continue to improve.
Turkey maintains good relations with Arab nations as well as with Israel. In recent years, it has sought to play a more active role in the Middle East. It mediated several rounds of indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel.
Yet, earlier this month, a senior Israeli government official said Israel, under right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would not resume Turkish-mediated peace talks with Syria, insisting that any new negotiations be direct.
