Israeli officials have not responded to the prospects for normalizing relations with Turkey after several weeks of hints from Ankara about the seriousness of their intentions, Ahval reported.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would like to normalize relations between the countries, prompting Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi to convene a cabinet meeting.
“However, an assessment on its own does not provide a clear enough signal that Israel is ready to take further steps on the normalisation tract,” the article reads.
Alon Liel, a retired ambassador and former Director-General at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed confidence that the current Israeli government has no interest in improving relations with Turkey.
“There is no minimal amount of trust on the leadership level,” Liel wrote in an email to Ahval.
The UAE is another important player standing above any Turkish-Israeli reconciliation. After the Emirates announced their intention to establish diplomatic relations with Israel with the support of the US, Turkey rejected the deal and threatened to withdraw its ambassador from Abu Dhabi. Further tightening the web of adversaries, Egypt invited the UAE to join the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which also includes Israel, Greece and Cyprus. Israeli media also reported that the last Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Eitan Naeh, will head Israel's temporary diplomatic post in Abu Dhabi.
Finally, the election of Joe Biden as the next US president added to Ankara's urgent need to avoid growing isolation. Biden, who criticized Turkey during his campaign, is a prominent supporter of Israel and supported the Abraham Accords.
From Ankara's point of view, turning to Israel may be one of the best ways out of the encirclement.
Despite the fact that Israel and Turkey have different views on many issues, they fully supported Azerbaijan in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the article says.
"Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev was even reportedly working to serve as a mediator between his two allies to bring them back together," the author adds.
