Turkey and Israel are holding diplomatic talks in an effort to ‘normalise’ the relationship between the two countries, after relations deteriorated six years ago following the murder of 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists near the Gaza strip in 2010. Turkish newspaper Hürriyet says that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has confirmed that “Israel and Turkey will publish a statement about this in the coming days.” Ejpress.org reports: Turkey has repeatedly insisted on three conditions for normalisation: the lifting of the Gaza blockade, compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims and an apology for the incident. In 2013, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paved the way for reconciliation by issuing an apology. Although it is thought that arrangements were made over a compensation deal for the families of those killed aboard the Mavi Marmara, a number of outstanding issues remain. Negotiators are thought to have been meeting during the past several weeks in Geneva, to discuss the points of contention, which are thought to include Turkey’s demand for free access to the Gaza Strip and Israel’s demand that Hamas – which is supported by Erdogan- be expelled fully from Turkey. However, Kuwaiti-based newspaper al-Jarida says that Turkey’s Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz has sent envoys to Israel to discuss the possible [...]