Speaking at a meeting of his Atzmaut faction, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that relations with Turkey were important. “Turkey is one of the four most important developing nations in the region, along with Israel, of course. We have a complicated relationship with the Saudis and a bad relationship with Iran. We have a peace treaty with Egypt, but Egypt is facing many challenges. So it would make sense to beef up relations with Turkey and to find a way to put our differences behind us.

“Israel closed off Gaza because we had no choice, and that is in the past. Turkey remains the most important country in the Middle East,” Barak said.