The Jerusalem Post reports: On November 15, following multiple delays, the Foreign Ministry’s appointments committee is scheduled to choose Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey.
Among the main candidates for the job are Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, who previously served in Turkey; the chargé d’affaires of the embassy in Ankara, Amira Oron; Ambassador to Greece, Irit Ben Aba; and the political councilor at Israel’s London embassy, Eitan Naveh. However, nobody would be shocked if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, decides to appoint for the job somebody close to him, because of the importance he places on relations with Turkey.
As soon as Israel announces the appointment of the ambassador and sends the envoy to Ankara, Turkey will reciprocate. Turkish media has reported that that the leading candidate for the embassy in Tel Aviv is Kamel Okam, a diplomat who is a very close confidant of one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s important advisors.
The decision to renew diplomatic ties with Turkey, to the level of exchanging ambassadors, was made more than four months ago as part of the reconciliation deal signed between the nations, which both recalled their envoys after the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in May 2010.
Last Spring, during the stretch run of negotiations, it seemed that time was running out for both sides and that they were each interested in ending this bleak period in their relations and quickly turning a new page. However, now it seems that the issue is not urgent to anyone and both sides prefer to take things slowly.
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