Israeli president thanks Erdo?an in phone call

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, to express his gratitude regarding the latter's message expressing his condolences for the three Israeli citizens killed in the March 19 suicide bombing attack in Istanbul. 

Rivlin called Erdo?an, who had sent a telegram of condolences, on March 22, according to Turkish presidential sources. 

He thanked Erdo?an for the repatriation of the three Israeli citizens who died in the attack on Istanbul's busy ?stiklal Avenue, during which an Iranian and the bomber himself were also killed.

The attention given to the treatment of the wounded Israelis and their repatriation home was also a topic for which Rivlin expressed his gratitude to Erdo?an. 

Rivlin condemned the latest terror attacks in Ankara and Istanbul, which occurred just six days apart and led to the deaths of more than 40 people.

Three Israeli citizens identified as 60-year-old Simha Simon Demri, 40-year-old Yonathan Suher and 70-year-old Avaham Godman, along with an Iranian, 31-year-old Ali R?za Khalman, were killed in the suicide bomb attack on March 19. Turkish police identified the perpetrator as 24-year-old Mehmet Öztürk who had links with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The relationship between Turkey and Israel was severely strained after the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara vessel was raided by Israeli commandos in 2010, killing nine Turkish and one Turkish-American citizen on board.

The two countries have stepped up efforts in recent months to restore the relationship between the two countries, for which efforts at the undersecretary-level have taken place. 

Turkey has repeatedly insisted on three conditions for normalization: the...