Palestinians welcome Turkey-Israel normalisation, Ankara says

Turkey said on Tuesday that Palestinian authorities, including different political factions, welcome the normalisation of ties between Turkey and Israel and that they want the dialogue to continue.

Last week, Turkey and Israel said they would re-appoint ambassadors, four years after they were expelled over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said rapprochement in Ankara’s relations with Israel would not diminish Turkey’s support for the Palestinian cause.

“On the contrary, our Palestinian brothers also express that these steps will contribute to the solution of the Palestinian issue and the improvement of the situation of the Palestinian people,” Erdogan said following a bilateral meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara.

Abbas thanked Turkey for its support for Palestinians.

Separately, in a televised interview with broadcaster Haber Global on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said an ambassador candidate for Israel will be presented to President Tayyip Erdogan in the “coming days”.