The knot of Hamas between Turkey and Israel

The thaw in Turkish-Israeli relations has climbed to the top of the agenda in terms of foreign policy and domestic affairs. It was just the opposite of previous talks when Turkey set out the conditions; this time, Israel is playing the "Hamas" card. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reluctant to make any agreements as long as Turkey's support for Hamas continues. He has also given instructions to look for options to exclude Turkey from the sale of natural gas produced in the Mediterranean. 

The already-tense relations between Turkey and Israel because of Gaza were totally broken on the morning of May 31, 2010, when the Mavi Marmara flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to break the embargo of Gaza was raided by the Israeli army. Ten people were killed, nine of them Turkish citizens and one an American-Turkish citizen. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were consequently lowered to the second secretary level. During the five-and-a-half years that have passed since, officials of the two countries have met from time to time to try to sign a deal. 

After a meeting in Rome in June 2015, there was another Turkish-Israeli meeting last week in Switzerland. There were suggestions in the press that relations would normalize after a meeting between Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlio?lu and Israel's Yossi Cohen. 

Both sides confirmed the Switzerland talks but announced that there was no deal. Israeli and Turkish diplomatic sources told daily Hürriyet that a text had been drafted and submitted for the approval of political authorities in the two countries. In the text, there are details that were also in the first deal regarding Israel's payment of compensation to the victims of the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Turkey...