Turkey approved the dispatch of medical equipment and supplies to Israel to help it cope with the spread of COVID-19.
“There was a demand for medical aid from Israel, and it will be completed within days. We will simultaneously send medical supplies to Palestine,” announced presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.
Kalin recalled that Turkey has been delivering medical equipment to many countries since the beginning of the pandemic, including Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, five Balkan countries, Azerbaijan and Qatar.
Earlier, Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily confirmed that Turkey will send medical supplies to Israel as part of a "commercial deal", not as "humanitarian aid."
A Turkish official told Bloomberg that the Turkish government approved the sale of medical equipment to Israel for humanitarian reasons.
The equipment sent includes: face masks, protective overalls and sterile gloves to help the country fight the coronavirus outbreak.
Three planes from Israel are expected to land in southern Incirlik air base to pick the cargo on Thursday, said the official, who is familiar with the shipment and asked not to be named discussing the sensitive issue.
Turkey will donate medical aid for the Palestinians within the next few days, the official said.
Turkish officials refrained from commenting on the matter for days, however, Turkey’s English Channel TRT mentioned Bloomberg’s report in one of its reports on Turkish aid to countries around the world fighting the coronavirus.
Israeli media, including the Hayom newspaper, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “important step” reveals the improvement of relations between Tel Aviv and Ankara.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the deal is pending at Istanbul airport after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office refused a condition to allow aid to reach Palestinian authorities without any holdups. Netanyahu refused to bargain, considering that Erdogan had returned to his negative policy against Israel, and thus froze the deal and aid.
According to the channel, Israelis outside the government bought the shipment of Turkish equipment, which was supposed to be distributed to medical facilities in Israel.
