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JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Six years of detente between Israel and Turkey came to an end on Monday, as the two announced reaching a reconciliation deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the deal earlier on Monday during a trip to Rome, while Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim delivered the statement in Ankara.
The two countries, once close allies, suspended their diplomatic ties and cooperation after the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, in which Israeli commando soldiers raided and killed ten Turkish pro-Palestinian activists who headed to the Gaza Strip enclave in protest of Israel's naval siege of it.
The road to restore relations was paved in 2013, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and apologized over the incident to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the urging of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Both Israel and Turkey are close allies of the U.S. administration in the Middle East, and both share similar interests in the region.
Since then, high-level officials from both countries met sporadically. Talks became more serious in recent months, with a "real progress" reached two weeks ago.
According to the terms of the agreement, Israel would compensate the families of the deceased and injured victims in a sum of 20 million U.S. dollars, and would allow Turkey to carry out rehabilitation projects in the Gaza Strip.
Turkey would pass a bill that would not allow citizens to sue Israeli soldiers who took part in the raid, and relinquished its demand for Israel to remove its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement since 2007.
The two countries would soon appoint ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Ankara and remove the restrictions on cooperation between them, specifically on the matter of natural gas deals.
Both Israeli and Turkish leaders on Monday lauded the deal reached as beneficial for their countries' interests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters the agreement is "an important step" with "immense implications" for the Israeli economy. He also said the agreement would help bring "stability" to the Middle East.
Yildirim hailed the deal in a press conference in Ankara, claiming the agreement complied with all of Turkey's demands.
Meanwhile, the Israeli security-diplomatic cabinet, a forum of ten ministers with decision-making capabilities in security and diplomatic affairs, is set to vote on the agreement on Wednesday.
While reports last week suggested the agreement is expected to pass unanimously, Israeli media reported on Monday afternoon Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, known for his hawkish views and militant statements, might object to it.
Lieberman told members of Yisrael Beytenu (Israel Our Home) ultranationalist party in a closed meeting on Monday that he sees "no reason" of changing his party's current objection to a reconciliation deal with Turkey, Israel's Channel 2 news reported.
The defense minister also said the 20 million U.S. dollars in compensation will have "problematic ramifications in the future", according to Channel 2 news.
Lieberman had in the past spoken against apologizing to Turkey and signing a reconciliation deal. He served as foreign minister during the deadly incident.
An unnamed minister told the Ynet news website the deal reached is a "scandalous" move, as the Israeli prime minister "brings a done deal" to the cabinet. "He's turning us into rubber stamps," the Israeli official told the website.
Israeli lawmakers from the opposition also expressed mix responses following the announcement of the deal on Monday.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin "welcomed" on Monday the chance to renew the relations with Turkey, adding that he believes that Israel and Turkey "have a promising future of cooperation," according to a statement from his office.
Outside of politics, bereaved families of two fallen Israeli soldiers, killed during Israel's 2014 military campaign in Gaza, lobbied against the deal and protested in the past two days, erecting a protest tent in front of the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem.
The families demand that any deal with Turkey would also include the demand to retrieve the remains of their beloved, as Turkey's administration has close ties with the Islamist movement. Enditem
