Could Turkish-Israeli deal ease blockade on Gaza Strip?

Turkey is reportedly preparing to bring goods and aid to the besieged Gaza Strip following a potential deal with Israel to be concluded on the back of Turkish-Israeli reconciliation talks.

Relations between Tel Aviv and Ankara broke down after the Israeli Navy intercepted the Mavi Marmara, a ship that was seeking to breach Israel’s blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in May 2010 as part of the Freedom Flotilla.

The Israeli raid ended with nine dead Turkish activists and dozens wounded.

Reconciliation talks resumed in June after a break of more than a year.

Expectations of a breakthrough were intensified after senior officials met this month to try to repair ties. The talks have raised hopes of progress in negotiations to import Israeli natural gas, particularly since Turkey's relationship with major energy producer Russia has worsened over Syria.

If the deal goes through, Turkey would effectively achieve a partial lifting of the blockade on the Strip.

“If agreement can be reached between the two countries, Israel will allow Turkish origin products and aid material through Turkey into the Gaza Strip," said Turkey's Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci at a news conference last week.

“Israel will remove obstacles surrounding the movement of goods from Turkey to the Gaza Strip," he added.

The comments came after, earlier this week, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a meeting of his party that Israel was flexible on easing elements of its part in an Egyptian-Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

However, Davutoglu cautioned that there was still no agreement between the two countries.

“There is progress,” Davutoglu told the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the meeting, “but there is still no deal.”

“They are not yet prepared to lift the blockade on Gaza entirely,” the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted him as saying Monday. “But they’ve reached the point where they assume they can ease it for Turkey’s sake. The Israelis have said they might not prevent aid from reaching Gaza.”

For his part, Ahmed Yousef, a senior figure in Hamas, told the Palestinian Maan news agency that an Israeli-Turkish reconciliation deal would have a positive effect on Gaza and allow Turkey to continue its efforts to rehabilitate areas decimated during Israel's war on Gaza in 2014.

However, Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said differences still remained over issues such as Hamas activity in Turkey and Israel’s policy on Gaza.

"Turkey is committed to reject any limitations on Turkish aid to Gaza," said the source.

The official further said that Hamas looks kindly upon talks between Israel and Turkey, despite the Israeli condition of exiling senior member Saleh al-Arouri from Ankara. 

The source added that Hamas is waiting impatiently for Turkish aid. According to him, the visit to Turkey by Hamas political leader Khaled Mashal was unrelated to the talks with Israel, but certainly helped show the world that Hamas is part of the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to official figures, the blockade has helped drive the unemployment rate in Gaza up to 42 percent. The poverty rate stands at about 65 percent.

This is not to mention ongoing power cuts and a humanitarian crisis the blockade has caused in the coastal enclave, which has been subjected to three devastating wars after which reconstruction was virtually prevented by Israel.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on the Gaza Strip they claim is designed to prevent the smuggling of weaponry, since the Palestinian resistance group Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.

The blockade was tighetened further after the Egyptian army staged a coup against the democratically elected Hamas-friendly President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

With agencies