Israel and Turkey are reportedly holding backchannel negotiations aimed at mending diplomatic fences and restoring their nearly severed diplomatic ties, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Once close regional allies, Israel and Turkey froze diplomatic ties in 2010, after 10 Turkish nationals were killed in clashes when the Israeli Navy raided a flotilla trying to breach the Gaza Strip blockade.
A reconciliation deal in 2016 stipulated that Israel would pay $21 million in restitution to the victims' families and the two countries would restore full diplomatic ties.
But relations have never fully recovered, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a harsh critic of Israeli policies on issues pertaining to the Palestinians – often trade barbs on social media.
The most recent war of words between Netanyahu and Erdogan was sparked when the Turkish leader accused Israel of using "disproportionate force" against "peaceful protesters" in the Gaza Strip.
The comment followed border riots in which more than 60 Palestinians, most of them members of Hamas and other terror groups, were killed.
Erdogan placed the blame for the deaths squarely on Israel, writing on Twitter that Israel is a "terrorist state" that commits "genocide."
Netanyahu responded by tweeting, "The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to by those who for years have bombed civilians indiscriminately."
This prompted Turkey to recall its ambassadors from Israel and the United States and to expel the Israeli ambassador and consul general from Turkey in May.
Israel responded by expelling the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.
Five months on, it seems the two countries are trying to broker a rapprochement.
According to Monday's reports, the behind-the-scenes talks aim to see both countries return their respective ambassadors in October, following the Jewish holidays.
Officials privy to the effort say the Israeli and Turkish delegates are due to meet in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
Turkey has returned its economic attaché to Israel in recent weeks, they said.
