Turkey sends agreement to parliament on normalizing ties with Israel

An agreement to normalize ties between Turkey and Israel was presented to Turkish parliament on Wednesday, local media reported.

Under the deal, Israel will pay 20 million U.S. dollars in compensation for lives claimed during Mavi Marmara flottila raid in 2010, daily Sabah reported.

In return, Turkey will drop all cases regarding the deadly incident and Israeli soldiers will be exempted from legal and criminal responsibility, according to the report.

Relations between Tel Aviv and Ankara soured after an Israeli naval ship raided Turkey's Mavi Marmara flotilla that was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in May 2010. Ten people were killed in the attack.

Attempts to mend ties were initiated in 2015. Negotiations were conducted throughout 2016 until June 26, when the two sides met in Rome to agree on the latest draft of the agreement.

Source : XINHUA