Erdogan ignores Palestinians, discusses restoring ties with Lapid

• 

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting on Tuesday, rooting for the restoration of ties between "Tel Aviv" and Ankara.

The meeting came just over a month after the two leaders had a phone call and agreed to move forward with the full restoration of ties, ending years of antagonism that largely surrounded "Israel's treatment of the Palestinians."

Lapid hailed the elevation of both Turkish and Israeli envoys, which have until now been at the level of chargé d’affaires, rather than ambassador, according to a statement from his office.

He specifically highlighted the Monday appointment of "Israel’s" charge d’affaires Irit Lilian to ambassador to Ankara, his office said. Turkey has yet to announce who will serve as its ambassador in "Tel Aviv."

Read next: “Israel” to restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey: PM Lapid

Israeli media reported that two days earlier, the Israeli occupation appointed its charge d'affaires in Ankara, Irit Lillian, as its ambassador to Turkey after the two fully restored their diplomatic ties last month.

The Israeli foreign ministry approved on September 19 that Lillian's appointment as its ambassador to Turkey following years of strained ties.

The ambassador served as the occupation's charge d'affaires for the past two years under highly deteriorating ties.

Erdogan, Lapid discuss security 

While disregarding the recent Israeli attacks on Palestinians, Lapid and Erdogan’s discussions focused on security in "Israel" and abroad, the Prime Minister’s Office announced.

Israeli flights to Turkey, which had been halted, have recently resumed. According to Lapid's office, this development would "enhance tourism" for both parties.

Erdogan to visit "Israel"

Erdogan told a group of Israeli leaders in New York that he plans to visit "Israel", another step indicating his plans to restore ties. He also shared his view that "antisemitism is a crime against humanity", however, the Turkish President did not mention the crimes against Palestinians.

He highlighted alleged hate crimes against the Israeli people but gave no regard to the continuous hate crimes against Palestinians by the IOF and Israeli settlers, the violation of their sovereignty, and countless violations of human rights. 

In a further sign of the restoring of ties, Erdogan limited his criticism of "Israel" during his speech before the General Assembly hours before his meeting with Lapid.

Read next: Lapid to visit Turkey despite political crisis in "Israel"

Relations between Ankara and "Tel Aviv"

Relations between Ankara and "Tel Aviv" had reached their lowest level after Israeli occupation commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara ship that was carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in 2010, which led to the deaths of nine Turks.

After a reconciliation deal in 2016, tensions escalated again between the two sides when both exchanged withdrawing ambassadors in 2018 over the IOF killing Palestinian protesters in Gaza, and after the US moved its embassy to occupied Al-Quds.

However, in recent months, Israeli-Turkish relations have been warming up. In March, Israeli occupation President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara and met his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In August, Turkey and "Israel" agreed to mutually reappoint ambassadors and restore full diplomatic ties.

Marking another step in the rapprochement between the two parties, a Turkish warship docked in early September in the Haifa port in occupied Palestine as part of a mission for NATO forces in the region, for the first time in 12 years.