Israel and Turkey have reached an understanding on the need to normalize relations which broke down after the 2010 Israeli raid on a Turkish vessel sailing to the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official reported Thursday. The memorandum was prepared during a secret meeting in Switzerland and calls upon Israel to pay compensation to the families of victims of the raid, return Israeli diplomats to their posts and begin talks on natural gas exports to Turkey, the anonymous official said. In exchange Turkey would drop all cases against Israel for the actions against the vessel and would ban Salah Aruri, an important Hamas figure, from traveling to and operating in Turkey. Israel has blamed Turkey of allowing Aruri to plan attacks from Turkish territory. The unnamed Israeli official said the Israeli delegation to the secret talks included future Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisor on relations with Turkey Joseph Ciechanover. The Turkish delegation reportedly was led by deputy foreign minister Feridun Sinirlioglu.

BNS