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JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Israel's opposition leader Isaac Herzog slammed Monday a reconciliation deal with Turkey, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "groveling" before Turkey.
The agreement, announced on Monday, normalizes the relations between the countries, nearly six years after a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla strained relations.
Under the deal, Turkey will send humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave, Israel will pay the victims of the flotilla 21 million U.S. dollars, and the countries will launch negotiations on a deal to sell Israeli gas to Turkey.
The agreement, which came after months of negotiations, still needs to be approved by Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday, according to Israeli officials.
Netanyahu, in Rome for meetings with U.S. State Secretary John Kerry and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, said the deal has "strategic importance" for both countries. He noted the economic importance of normalizing the ties with Turkey and said it also offers stability.
"The Middle East is in turmoil. My policy is to create islands of stability with our close neighbors," he said.
Herzog blasted Netanyahu, saying paying compensation for "those who attacked Israel Defense Force soldiers is inconceivable."
"The deal with Turkey is part of the prime minister's pattern. He starts with grand claims, continues with promises and ends with surrendering," Herzog wrote on his Facebook page.
"Every Hebrew mother should know that right-wing politicians will compensate her son's attackers," he said.
Bereaved families of two fallen soldiers that were killed in Israel's 2014 military campaign in Gaza lobbied the parliament against the deal. The families and dozens of supporters erected a protest tent in front of the prime minster's official residence, calling on the ministers not to approve a deal that doesn't include the return of their loved ones.
Relations between the once close allies broke apart after the May 2010 deadly raid by the Israeli Navy on a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla headed to the Palestinian enclave demanding an end to the Israeli blockade. Ten Turkish nationals were killed in the raid.
