ANKARA: Turkiye has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step toward normalizing ties with the Jewish state.
Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat who had served as Turkiye’s consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, was named to the post in a presidential decree late Friday, Turkish media reported.
Ankara withdrew its ambassador to Israel in May 2018 and threw out the Israeli envoy over the Israeli army’s killing of dozens of Palestinians.
Israel riposted by sending back the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.
Ties between the two soured after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Israel’s policy toward Palestinians under the previous governments of its new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Erdogan sent a congratulatory letter to Netanyahu after his victory in elections held earlier this month.
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Turkiye appoints new envoy to Israel after four-year gap
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Turkiye appoints new envoy to Israel after four-year gap
- Ankara withdrew its ambassador to Israel in May 2018 and threw out the Israeli envoy over the Israeli army’s killing of dozens of Palestinians
UN human rights office: migrants in Libya subjected to systemic violence, abuses
The United Nations’ Human Rights Office said on Tuesday that migrants in Libya are subjected to systematic human rights violations including killings and torture, calling for an end to interceptions and returns of migrants’ boats at sea.
According to a report by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Support Mission, migrants are rounded up and abducted by criminal trafficking networks, often with ties to the Libyan authorities, and criminal networks abroad.
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