Turkiye appoints new envoy to Israel after four-year gap

Turkiye has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step toward normalizing ties with the Jewish state. (AFP)
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Updated 12 November 2022
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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

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.


Children from Gaza return home after medical treatment in Jordan

Updated 26 February 2026
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Children from Gaza return home after medical treatment in Jordan

  • The group, which included 10 children and 18 members of their families, crossed King Hussein Bridge on the border between Jordan and the West Bank on Wednesday
  • Authorities in Jordan have been organizing medical evacuations from Gaza since March last year

LONDON: A group of Palestinian children are returning home to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordanian hospitals.

The patients, who included 10 children and 18 members of their families, crossed King Hussein Bridge on the border between Jordan and the West Bank on Wednesday, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Jordanian authorities said the group was returning to Gaza after treatment in line with Jordan’s commitment to support for Palestinians and the prevention of displacement from their land.

Jordan has been organizing medical evacuations from Gaza since March last year, during which time 635 children and 1,598 caregivers have been taken to hospitals in Jordan.