It is well known that Erdogan in the last period of time and especially in the period after the devastating earthquakes, has gradually made moves to redefine his country's relations with countries of the Arab world and with Israel.
As a result of the above, Turkey has so far succeeded in restoring its relations with the UAE, the recent $40 billion financial deal between the two countries and Saudi Arabia is indicative of a very large part of which representatives of Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom's national oil company, met in Ankara with some 80 Turkish contractors to discuss potential projects worth $50 billion.
Indicative of the "Turkish push" to restore relations with Egypt, former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Cairo on Saturday ahead of his country's elections to push for a full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries despite Ankara's continued support for the Muslim Brotherhood group.
Erdogan, however, understands that his rapprochement with Israel is key to restoring relations with the US in the future and therefore we expect he will attempt to convince Tel Aviv of his supposed good intentions.
In order to do this, of course, the Turkish President knows that a meeting with Netanyahu is a prerequisite, combined with the initiation of some kind of Turkish-Israeli economic cooperation, especially in the energy and defense sectors, which will result in the "melting of the ice" between the two countries.
The issue is reported in an Israeli media article titled "Netanyahu and Turkey's Erdogan reportedly plan to meet in July," noting:
"The two leaders could discuss possible gas exports from the field off Gaza, with supply shortages due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine providing an incentive for cooperation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plan to meet in Ankara in July, according to a report on Friday, as relations between the two countries thaw.
Talks between the two may revolve around the possible export of gas from a field off Gaza to Europe via Turkey, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the sources, the supply chain disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have prompted the two countries to further strengthen ties after a decade-long break in relations.
Netanyahu said this week that Israel would work to develop the gas field after a decade of false starts, in a move aimed at boosting the Palestinian Authority's faltering economy.
Turkey has been keen to build a pipeline to deliver gas from Israel to Europe, but according to some experts, there is little Israeli interest in energy cooperation with Ankara.
Israel's embassy in Ankara and the Turkish government declined to comment on the report.
News of the potentially imminent meeting comes amid a rekindling of relations between Israel and Turkey after years of animosity between the leaders of the two countries. President Isaac Herzog was hosted by Erdogan last year in Ankara, the first high-level visit since 2008, and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with the Turkish leader in February.
Both Netanyahu and Herzog called Erdogan in May to congratulate him on his victory in the presidential election and urged continued improvement of ties between the two regional powers.
Israel was a longtime regional ally of Turkey before Erdogan came to power, but ties collapsed after Israeli commandos raided the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara ship in 2010, part of a blockade-breaking flotilla that left 10 Turkish activists dead after IDF men attacked the ship.
Despite Netanyahu's formal apology, Erdogan went on to accuse the Jewish state of "keeping the spirit of Hitler alive" during Operation Defensive Shield in Gaza in July 2014.
Ties later saw a modest improvement, but both countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2018 after Erdogan made accusations of "state terrorism" and "genocide" in Israel, when dozens of Palestinians were killed in riots in Gaza on May 14 that year, the day after US President Donald Trump decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Facing harsh diplomatic isolation and economic woes, Erdogan began to publicly demonstrate an open spirit of rapprochement gradually, and in August last year, Israel and Turkey announced a full renewal of diplomatic relations.
The new Greek government that will emerge after the elections should, in our estimation, closely observe in every detail Turkey's re-engagement with Israel on the one hand, and on the other hand, extend the Athens-Tel Aviv relations of cooperation and friendship even further.
Palestinians and Hamas, supported by Turkey, as well as Erdogan's agreements with Russia and Iran on post-war Syria, within which Iranian armed forces are located and operating, with Assad at the helm of the country, are red flags for Israel, as is Tehran with its nuclear programme.
There is much that separates Israel and Turkey.
Greece, for its part, should expand its defense cooperation with Israel and Cyprus, creating a unified air defense in the SE Mediterranean with the blessing of the US, providing strategic depth to Israel, but also stifling Erdogan's "Blue Homeland" in the SE Mediterranean.
