Israeli PM Netanyahu and Turkish PM Erdogan

Turkey will drop charges on the Israeli soldiers responsible for the massacre of 9 Turkish nationals in international waters four years ago in return.

Following the murder of nine Turkish nationals aboard the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla by Israeli commandos in international waters four years ago, the normalization of Turkish-Israeli affairs looks set to be cemented in a deal in ten days time.
Turkey froze relations with Israel after the incident, when Israeli commandos raided ships belonging to Turkish charity IHH before they could break the Israeli naval blockade on Gaza. However, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long awaited apology last year after pressure from US president Barack Obama, relations between the two states began a normalization process.
In addition to an apology, Turkey demanded compensation by the Israeli authorities for the families of the victims aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, as well as an end to the blockade on Gaza. Now, Israel looks finally set to agree to compensate the victims’ families in return for Turkey dropping charges on the Israeli soldiers responsible for the massacre.
Speaking in an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose show, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a deal would be signed within days. A claim made by a political source to Israeli press also reiterated this.
The source, speaking to Yedioth Ahronot newspaper, said that a total of $21 million would be distributed as compensation for the victims’ families. The two states will then re-appoint ambassadors to each other./World Bulletin/