Israeli diplomatic sources said that secret Israeli-Turkish communication channels reached an advanced stage, and will likely lead to the resumption of full diplomatic relations. Negotiations are expected to end within weeks.
Sources said on Monday that Turkey and Israel were secretly talking over the de-escalation of tensions and resuming diplomatic ties that were cut four months ago after Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador from Ankara and withdrew its own ambassador from Tel Aviv.
According to Turkish and Israeli sources in Tel Aviv, there is strong possibility that the two countries will resume diplomatic ties after September, should no last-minute crises arise.
Sources speculated that there are several reasons for the desire to improve relations between the two sides, most notably the crisis between Turkey and the United States, which greatly affected Turkey’s national currency
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes for a rapprochement that brings together Israeli and Turkish interests in dealing with the future of the neighboring state, and their shared desire to split Syria gains with Israel in the south, and Turkey in the north.
Sources said that one of the most important signs of progress was Turkey appointing a commercial attaché at its embassy in Tel Aviv, after the post had remained vacant for the last three years.
According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Trade, the trade balance between the two countries approached $ 5.5 billion last year.
It is noteworthy that this balance has shifted in the last three years to benefit Turkey’s best interest mostly, after it was in the interest of Israel.
In 2014 $ 2.7 billion of $ 5.5 billion in trade exchange were Turkish exports to Israel, while imports from Israel were $ 2.8 billion. But in 2015, the trade balance between the two countries reached $ 4.1 billion, of which $ 2.4 billion were Turkish exports to Israel, while Israeli imports totaled $ 1.7 billion.
The reason for the drop in Turkish imports from Israel is the Turkish authorities' prohibition of Israeli companies in 2015 from participating in public tenders. In 2016, the trade balance between the two countries dropped to $ 3.9 billion. Turkey's exports to Israel amounted to $ 2.6 billion, while imports from Israel totaled $ 1.3 billion.
In 2017, the trade balance between the two countries reached $ 4.3 billion, with Turkey's exports to Israel reaching $ 2.9 billion, while imports from Israel totaled $ 1.4 billion.
