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EU court says Israel settlement goods must be labelled

Yahoo – AFP, Damon WAKE, November 12, 2019

France published guidelines in 2016 saying products from Israeli settlements in the
West Bank and Golan Heights must carry labels making their precise origin
clear (AFP Photo/HAZEM BADER)

Brussels (AFP) - The EU's top court ruled Tuesday that food products from occupied Palestinian territories must be labelled as such, drawing an angry response from Israel which slammed a "double standard".

The European Court of Justice said that under EU rules on food labelling, it must be clear where products are from -- particularly if they come from Israeli settlements.

That way, it said, consumers can make choices based on "ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".

The ECJ ruling effectively backs the EU guidelines issued in 2015 on labelling goods from Israeli-occupied areas, which also prompted a furious response. At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared them to the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses.

The Luxembourg-based court ruled after France's top tribunal asked for clarification of rules on labelling goods from the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, which the international community considers occupied Palestinian land, as well as the Golan Heights, which Israel took from Syria in 1967.

"Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance," said an ECJ statement announcing its decision.

France published guidelines in 2016 saying products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights must carry labels making their precise origin clear.

This was challenged by the Organisation Juive Europeene (European Jewish Organisation) and Psagot, a company that runs vineyards in occupied territories.

Israel's foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying it "strongly rejects" the ruling.

"The ruling's entire objective is to single out and apply a double standard against Israel," it said.

"There are over 200 ongoing territorial disputes across the world, yet the (European Court of Justice) has not rendered a single ruling related to the labelling of products originating from these territories."

But a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, insisted the ruling "does not concern products from Israel itself". It would not affect the privileged trading status the Jewish state has under its association agreement with the bloc, she added.

"The EU does not support any form of boycott or sanctions against Israel and the EU rejects attempts by the campaigns of the so-called Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to isolate Israel," spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said.

Elsewhere, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat, welcomed the ruling but urged the EU to go further.

"Our demand is not only for the correct labelling reflecting the certificate of origin of products coming from illegal colonial settlements, but for the banning of those products from international markets."

'Ethical considerations'

The court said that labelling products as from the "State of Israel" when in fact they come from "territories... occupied by that State" could mislead consumers.

The court added that EU regulations on labelling the origin of goods were intended to allow consumers to make "informed choices" -- not just on health, economic, environmental and social grounds, "but also to ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".

"Such considerations could influence consumers' purchasing decisions," the ECJ said.

On the issue of Israeli settlements, the court said "they give concrete expression to a policy of population transfer conducted by that State outside its territory, in violation of the rules of general international humanitarian law".

Consumers might be misled if it was not made clear that products originated in these settlements, the court added.

But Francois-Henri Briard, the lawyer for Psagot, condemned the ruling, saying it catered to "political prejudices".

"If such labelling is applied to Israeli products, surely it will also need to be applied to scores of other countries around the world who could be argued to be in violation of international law," he said in a statement.

Francois Kalifat of the CRIF umbrella association of French Jewish groups called the ruling "discriminatory and intolerable".

He said it would strengthen the BDS movement, which calls for a broad-ranging boycott of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians.

Netherlands mulls host city for Eurovision 2020

France24 – AFP, 19 May 2019

Netherlands' Duncan Laurence beat 25 other Eurovision finalists with his stirring
power ballad "Arcade" (AFP)

The Hague (AFP) - Several Dutch cities threw their hat in the ring Sunday to host Eurovision 2020 after the Netherlands won this year's glitzy song contest with a stirring power ballad about heartache.

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Maastricht have all volunteered to organise the famously kitsch event, which draws millions of viewers with its extravagant performances and over-the-top stage sets.

Bookies' favourite Duncan Laurence handed his home country its first victory in 44 years when he beat 25 other finalists at the latest edition held in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

The 25-year-old, who came out as bisexual in 2016 and has used his new high profile to advocate more tolerance, wooed audiences with his ballad "Arcade" about a romantic breakup.

Italy finished second and Russia third in the results that combined votes from juries from participating countries as well as viewers at home.

'Proud' monarchs

"We are proud of Duncan Lawrence who has conquered Europe with musical class... and is bringing Eurovision home next year," Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima said in a tweet shortly after the winner was announced.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte joined the chorus of praise, hailing the performance as "sublime and powerful".

Relatively unknown before being chosen to represent his country, Laurence was visibly moved by his success.

"My dream has come true, it really has come true," he told journalists following his victory -- the Netherlands' first since 1975.

More than 5.3 million Dutch viewers watched the live show, according to Dutch broadcaster Avrotros.

The largely European competition, which gifted the Swedish supergroup ABBA to the world, dates back to the 1950s.

Over the years, it has widened to include channels subscribing to the European Broadcasting Union, and now spreads as far as Australia.

While Eurovision organisers take care to note that the event is meant to be non-political, it is frequently punctured by some controversy.

The Tel Aviv edition was no exception. Two backup dancers for Madonna appeared on stage wearing Israeli and Palestinian flags on their backs.

Icelandic group Hatari meanwhile displayed scarfs with Palestinian flags when results were being announced.

Israel won the right to host the extravaganza thanks to last year's victory by Israeli singer Netta Barzilai, who opened the show on Saturday night.

“Duncan’s song is a winning game! Wij zijn trots op Duncan Laurence die Europa met muzikale klasse heeft veroverd, Nederland voor het eerst in 44 jaar weer winst heeft bezorgd en het Songfestival volgend jaar naar Nederland haalt!” - WA en Máxima. #songfestival #eurovision pic.twitter.com/esSgL9ulB2

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) 18 mei 2019

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Guestbook signature gives insight into Nazi's Jerusalem visit

Yahoo – AFP, Jonah Mandel, May 2, 2019

Archivist Stefan Litt displays a guestbook bearing the signature of Nazi Leopold
von Mildenstein at the Jerusalem National Library (AFP Photo/THOMAS COEX)

Jerusalem (AFP) - A recently uncovered signature in a guestbook has shed new light on a Nazi's visit to Jerusalem in 1933, and Israel's National Library is highlighting the find for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The visit, illustrated through Leopold von Mildenstein's signature in the guestbook, is further testimony to the Nazis' evolving ideas about how to deal with what they called the "Jewish problem", historians say.

The eventual result was the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust, and Israel held its annual commemoration of the victims on Thursday.

Mildenstein in 1933 was touring what was then British Mandatory Palestine along with a German Jewish friend, Kurt Tuchler, and their wives.

It was part of his efforts to facilitate the solution to Germany's "Jewish problem" by relocating them to their historic homeland.

Mildenstein would eventually become head of the SS department dealing with Jews.

While Mildenstein's visit and relationship with Tuchler has been well-documented, including in the 2011 film "The Flat", his signature -- and participation in a Jewish cultural open house -- were yet unknown.

"It was -- wow," Stefan Litt, the archivist responsible for German collections at the Israel National Library, said of the moment he came across Mildenstein's name in the guestbook several months ago.

Speaking with AFP on Wednesday, Litt said he then sought more information in the diary of host Moshe Yaakov Ben-Gavriel, a prolific writer and fervent Zionist whose home the Nazi visited.

'Unsure what to think'

The Zionist movement advocated the founding of a Jewish state in Jews' biblical-era homeland, which occurred with the creation of Israel in 1948.

Ben-Gavriel was "unsure what to think" about the presence of a senior member of the German ruling party that upon rising to power in 1933 began expelling Jews from public life, Litt said.

While some guests left, others remained and conversed with Mildenstein, who "was very excited about the building going on in the land, even attempting to say a few words in Hebrew and generally trying to act in a cultured manner," Ben-Gavriel wrote.

Mildenstein continued to advocate the relocation of Jews to Mandatory Palestine up to 1936, when he was replaced as the SS pointman for Jewish issues by the infamous Adolf Eichmann, who eventually helped orchestrate the mass-murder of Jews as the "final solution".

The efforts of Mildenstein -- who left the SS but remained a Nazi -- and the Zionist movement oddly shared an interest though obviously for different reasons, according to an expert.

The Nazis "were interested in what they called distancing the Jews -- by emigration", said Moshe Zimmerman, professor emeritus of history at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

"And the emigration with which they could collaborate with the greatest ease was Zionist emigration."

The fundamental change came with the 1939 outbreak of the war and the Nazi's occupation of eastern European countries and their Jewish populations.

"They then needed to find a larger-scale 'solution'," he said.

"Up to the war, the 'solution to the Jewish problem' applied to Germany's Jews. After the war (began) they needed to think of 'solutions' for Jews from other places too," Zimmerman said.

Mildenstein's signature and his relationship with Tuchler remains a "terrific story which shows that never, actually, history is black and white", said Litt, the archivist.

"There's a lot of grey in-between."

Irish Senate backs law banning trade with Israeli settlements

Yahoo – AFP, July 11, 2018

A picture taken on November 8, 2017 shows a general view of construction work
in Gilo, a Jewish settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem
(AFP Photo/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Dublin (AFP) - The Irish Senate gave its support Wednesday to a draft law prohibiting the import of goods produced in occupied territories around the world, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.

Israel reacted angrily to the proposal calling it "populist, dangerous and extremist", while a spokesman for the PLO expressed "sincere appreciation" for the initiative.

The proposed law was introduced by an independent senator and drew support from all of Ireland's major political parties, except the governing Fine Gael party.

The Irish government said the measure, unprecedented for a European Union member, was unworkable because it would impose a trade barrier within the European Union's single market and could harm Irish influence in the region.

Senators voted in favour of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill by 25 votes to 20, with applause rippling through the chamber after an impassioned debate.

It will now undergo further scrutiny in a senate committee, with the government set to continue trying to block it becoming law.

"We may have a long path ahead of us," said Senator Frances Black, the bill's author. "But I believe... we've made the case clearly."

Calling Israeli settlements a "war crime", she compared her proposal to early Irish efforts to oppose apartheid in South Africa, adding Ireland "will always stand on the side of international law, human rights and justice."

But Foreign Minister Simon Coveney warned it risked "fanning flames" in the Middle East.

"I respect this house and its decision but respectfully disagree," he said.

'Palestine's St Patrick's Day'

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the vote would have "a negative impact on the diplomatic process in the Middle East".

"The absurd in the Irish Senate's initiative is that it will harm the livelihoods of many Palestinians who wo work in the Israeli industrial zones affected by the boycott," he said.

"Israel will consider its response in accordance with developments regarding the legislation," he said.

Saeb Erekat, Palestine Liberation Organisation secretary-general, welcomed the move.

"This courageous step builds on the historic ties between Ireland and Palestine, as well as it shows the way forward for the rest of the European Union," he said.

Israel has acted angrily to such moves in the past, heavily criticising the EU after it backed labelling products produced in its settlements in 2015.

It summoned the Irish ambassador for clarifications over the proposed legislation when it was first introduced in January.

Fadi Quran, Palestinian senior campaigner at pressure group Avaaz, who was in the senate when the bill passed, heralded July 11 "Palestine's St. Patrick Day".

"The settlements are immoral and illegal under international law, and Ireland is the first country to practise what the whole world preaches," he said.

"Now, others need to follow the Irish example."

Proponents of the measure argued Israel is profiting from its illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories and the stalled peace process shows no signs of yielding a resolution.

"The status quo has failed... that is why we are seeking a change," said Senator Colette Kelleher, who co-signed the bill.

"I'm asking you to lead Europe," she added, addressing her comments to Coveney.

But those opposed to the move said it could draw Ireland into trade disputes over contested territories in places like China, Cyprus and Crimea.

Britain's Prince William in Jordan for historic Middle East tour

Yahoo – AFP, Mussa Hattar, June 24, 2018

Britain's Prince William and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah walk
along the red carpet at Amman's Marka military airport at the start of William's tour
of the region on June 24, 2018 (AFP Photo/KHALIL MAZRAAWI)

Amman (AFP) - Prince William flew in to Jordan on Sunday at the launch of a Middle East tour that will see him become the first British royal to pay official visits to both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

He was greeted at Amman's Marka military airport by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, hosting William for the two-day visit in Jordan.

The 36-year-old Duke of Cambridge's Royal Air Force plane touched down at the small airport in eastern Amman, where he was given a red-carpet welcome by the heir to the Jordanian throne.

Royal guards carrying rifles fitted with bayonets and wearing Jordan's traditional red-and-white chequered keffiyeh scarves stood to attention as the prince, in a dark suit, descended from the plane.

The visit by the second in line to the British throne has been billed as a chance to bond with 23-year-old Prince Hussein, a fellow graduate of Britain's Royal Sandhurst Military Academy.

On Sunday evening, William attended a birthday party in honour of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose official 92nd birthday was celebrated on June 9, at the British ambassador's residence.

"I greatly admire the resilience you in Jordan have shown in the face of the many security and humanitarian challenges that have confronted you as a result of conflicts in this region," William said at the party.

"The way in which you opened your doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria, not to mention your longstanding commitments to Palestinian refugees, is remarkable," he said.

"In so many ways, Jordan as an open and stable society is a beacon of hope for many other people in the Middle East."

Britain's Prince William attends a birthday party in honour of his grandmother, 

Queen Elizabeth II, at the residence of the British ambassador Edward Oakden's (L) 

house in the Jordanian capital Amman on 24 June, 2018 (AFP Photo/AHMAD ABDO)

On Monday, William will visit the ancient Roman ruins of Jerash, north of the capital, as well as a vocational training college for young Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

That evening, he will begin his history-making visit to the Jewish state and occupied West Bank during which he will meet both Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Seeds of conflict

Kensington Palace has underlined the "non-political nature of His Royal Highness's role -- in common with all royal visits overseas".

But the region is a minefield of sensitivities.

The visit comes at a particularly volatile time after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as capital of Israel and moved Washington's embassy there, sparking Arab outrage and deadly clashes.

Britain governed the region under a League of Nations mandate for almost three decades until Israel's independence 70 years ago, and is still blamed by both sides for sowing the seeds of a conflict that continues to wrack the region.

Ahead of William's arrival, the official schedule's reference to east Jerusalem as "in the Occupied Palestinian Territories" sparked anger among right-wing Israeli politicians.

Britain's Prince William and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah walk 

along the red carpet at Amman's Marka military airport at the start of William's tour 

of the region on June 24, 2018 (AFP Photo/KHALIL MAZRAAWI)

Official visits by British royals take place at the request of the UK government, but statements from the prince's household have given little explanation for the timing of this trip.

Israel has long pushed for an official visit by a member of the British monarchy.

Other members of William's family -- including his father Prince Charles -- have made unofficial visits to Israel and east Jerusalem in the past.

During the trip, William will have plenty of reminders of Britain's role in the region.

In Jerusalem, he will stay at the King David hotel, which was Britain's administrative headquarters during its rule of Palestine prior to Israeli statehood in 1948.

In 1946, militant Jews waging violent resistance against British rule bombed the building, killing and wounding scores of people, many of them British civil servants or military personnel.

Whilst in Jerusalem, William will lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

He will also visit the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and pay tribute at the tomb of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, who has been honoured by Israel for sheltering Jews during World War II.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, he is to hold talks with Abbas and also meet Palestinian refugees and young people.

UK aid minister Patel quits over Israel meetings

Yahoo – AFP, Alice RITCHIE, November 8, 2017

UK Prime Minister Theresa May accepted the resignation of Britain's International
Development Secretary Priti Patel, seen leaving No 10 Downing Street in London
on November 8, 2017 (AFP Photo/Adrian DENNIS)

London (AFP) - Britain's overseas aid minister Priti Patel quit on Wednesday over unauthorised meetings in Israel, becoming the latest cabinet member caught up in a whirlwind of scandals rocking Prime Minister Theresa May's government.

"I offer a fulsome apology to you and to the government for what has happened and offer my resignation," Patel wrote in a letter to May, becoming the second minister to leave the cabinet in one week.

May summoned Patel back from a trip to Africa to explain her talks with Israeli politicians and officials, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army.

Patel had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance.

Patel wrote in her letter that there had been a "number of reports about my actions and I am sorry that these have served as a distraction."

May accepted Patel's resignation, replying in a letter that "the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together. But that must be done formally."

The departure comes a week after Michael Fallon quit as defence secretary following allegations of sexual harassment.

Britain is facing a major challenge in Brexit, but May has struggled to keep her ministers in line since losing her Conservative parliamentary majority in a snap election in June.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May has struggled to keep her ministers in line
 since losing her parliamentary majority in a snap June election (AFP Photo/
Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

Months of public divisions over the negotiations with the European Union have in recent days given way to scandals over foreign affairs and sexual abuse.

May's deputy Damian Green is being investigated for allegedly groping a journalist in 2014 -- which he denies -- while a similar probe is under way into the behaviour of junior trade minister Mark Garnier towards his secretary.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been accused of jeopardising the case of a British woman jailed in Iran, after appearing to suggest she was training journalists at the time -- something her family strongly denies.

May put off a mooted reshuffle after her election setback, but some MPs have called on her to act to assert her power over a government that looks increasingly adrift.

Opposition party politicians welcomed Patel's departure.

Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson said she had "rightly been forced to step down for her cover up."

"This was an appalling error of judgement and is nothing short of a major failure by the British government," she added.

Funding to Golan Heights

On Monday, Patel revealed details of her meetings in Israel, which included discussions with non-governmental organisations and businesses.

She said they were arranged by Lord Stuart Polak, honorary president of the lobbying group Conservative Friends of Israel.

British Prime Minister Theresa May herself met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu in London earlier this month (AFP Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

But it emerged late Tuesday there had been another two unauthorised meetings in September, with Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan in London and senior foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem in New York.

During her meetings, Patel discussed the possibility of British aid being used to support medical assistance for Syrian refugees arriving in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Downing Street said.

However, reports suggest that she did not explain to May that this involved supplying funding to the Israeli army, which has facilitated the treatment of more than 3,100 wounded refugees in Israeli hospitals since 2013.

Britain views the Golan Heights as occupied territory and a minister told MPs on Tuesday that funding the Israeli Defence Forces there was "not appropriate".

A senior Palestinian official on Wednesday condemned the meetings as "scandalous", urging May to take action.

"I think it is scandalous and that leads me to question how many more cases, not just in Britain but other places, have not been exposed," Hanan Ashrawi told AFP.

In a further development on Wednesday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that Patel visited a military field hospital in the Golan Heights as a guest of the government.

During her meetings with Israelis, British International Development Secretary 

Priti Patel discussed aid being used to support medical assistance for Syrian 

refugees arriving in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Downing Street said

 (AFP Photo/Oli SCARFF)

Patel's ministry declined to comment on the report.

Breach of ministerial code

Patel was a leading campaigner for Britain to leave the EU in last year's referendum, and is a prominent figure in May's cabinet.

The daughter of Ugandan Indians, the 45-year-old has been an MP since 2010, and is widely believed to have ambitions on Downing Street.

On Monday, she had apologised that her "enthusiasm to engage in this way could be misread, and how meetings were set up and reported in a way which did not accord with the usual procedures".

Turkey mends fences with former foes Israel and Russia

Yahoo – AFP, Katy Lee, June 27, 2016

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim delivers a speech during a press
conference after a Turkish-Israeli meeting, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara,
on June 27, 2016 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey launched a major diplomatic charm offensive Monday, reaching out a conciliatory hand to Russia and hailing a deal to restore ties with Israel as it looks to boost its neighbourhood clout.

The Kremlin said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had apologised to his counterpart Vladimir Putin over the downing of a Russian military jet in Syria last November, which shattered ties between the two nations.

Just hours earlier, the prime ministers of Turkey and Israel had revealed details of an agreement ending six years of acrimony following a commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left 10 Turkish activists dead.

The twin breakthroughs come as Turkey moves back towards a policy known as "zero problems with neighbours" following a string of diplomatic crises and with its foe Bashar al-Assad still in power in Syria.

Patching things up in the neighbourhood is also of crucial importance as NATO member Turkey goes through a rocky spell with the European Union, with Western leaders expressing concern over rising authoritarianism under Erdogan.

A Russian military official passes by a screen showing a live broadcast of the 

opening of the flight recorder from the Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber shot down

by a Turkish jet on November 24, 2015 (AFP Photo/Vasily Maximov)

'Regrets' over downed jet

Putin had repeatedly demanded an apology over the downed jet, and the latest move could help end a feud that has seen Moscow slap a raft of sanctions on Ankara.

Erdogan said late Monday that he hoped for a "quick" return to normal ties between the two.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has also accepted an invitation to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting in Sochi, Russia on July 1, according to a foreign ministry source -- another potential sign of a thaw.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier that Erdogan had "said sorry" in a letter to Putin, although there was no explicit confirmation of this from the Turkish side.

Turkey's Anadolu state news agency cited presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin as saying Erdogan had written to "express his regrets".

The countries are on opposing sides in Syria, with Ankara backing rebels fighting to topple Assad while Moscow staunchly supports his regime.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon meanwhile hailed the Israel-Turkey deal as a "hopeful signal for the stability of the region".

The US has pushed for a resolution between its two longtime allies as it seeks cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Ties went into deep freeze in 2010 after the Israeli commando raid against activists trying to breach the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Two of Turkey's key conditions for normalisation -- an apology and compensation -- were met earlier, leaving its third demand, that Israel lift the blockade, as the main obstacle.

Israel has committed to pay $20 million to families of the slain activists, in exchange for all claims against Israeli soldiers being dropped.

But while Turkey has won permission to deliver aid to Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the blockade would remain in place.

In May 2010, ten Turkish activists were killed when Israeli commandos raided

the Mavi Marmara ship which was part of the Free Gaza flotilla (AFP Photo)

'Nearly no friends'

Reports in recent days had described a compromise on the blockade issue, with Turkish aid to be channelled through the Israeli port of Ashdod rather than directly to Gaza.

Israel will also reportedly allow Turkish infrastructure projects in Gaza, including the completion of a much-needed hospital.

"Our first ship loaded with over 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid will leave for Israel's Ashdod port on Friday," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a press conference.

Yildirim hinted at a new approach after he took over as premier in May from Ahmet Davutoglu, who pursued an aggressive foreign policy that some analysts said brought more problems than profit.

"It looks to me that the new Turkish prime minister's mission is to launch a charm offensive to undo the foreign policy wreck left behind by ousted premier Davutoglu," Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Programme at The Washington Institute, told AFP last week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets US Secretary of State John 

Kerry on June 27, 2016 at Villa Taverna, US ambassador's residence in Rome (AFP

Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

Turkey had also fallen out with Egypt following the military's ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of the government in Ankara.

Davutoglu's initiatives resulted in Turkey ending up with "nearly no friends" in the Middle East, Cagaptay said.

Israel had its own incentives to patch things up as it seeks regional customers for gas exports, with talk of a potential pipeline to Turkey.

Netanyahu, speaking in Rome after meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry, described the agreement as having "immense implications for the Israeli economy".

Kerry, too, hailed it as a "positive step".

After the deal is signed on Tuesday, the approval process will start in both countries, and Yildirim said Ankara would appoint an ambassador to Tel Aviv within weeks.

Related Article:

Israeli,Turkish leaders laud deal to restore ties

Margot Wallstrom, tough Swede shown the door by Israel

Yahoo – AFP, Gaël Branchereau,  January 15, 2016

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will not be welcome in Israel following
 her call for investigations into the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and other
critical comments, a top Israeli official said (AFP Photo/Antti Aimo Koivisto)

Stockholm (AFP) - The unusually frank approach of Sweden's foreign minister has seen fans send her flowers over her biting criticism of Saudi Arabia -- and now prompted Israel to declare her persona non grata.

Declared unwelcome by authorities in the Jewish state on Wednesday thanks to a raft of critical comments, Margot Wallstrom has made a name for herself as a vocal feminist and fierce defender of human rights.

The 61-year-old Social Democrat is the undisputed star of her government, but critics wonder whether her tendency to speak her mind -- not a quality traditionally found in diplomats -- is good for the country.

She has repeatedly enraged Israel, starting with Sweden's recognition of a Palestinian state shortly after she became foreign minister in October 2014.

In the wake of November's terror attacks in Paris, she identified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the factors explaining why "there are so many people who have become radicalised" -- comments Israel called "appallingly impudent".

And in December, she called on Israel to halt what she called "extrajudicial executions" in response to attacks by knife-wielding Palestinians, following up with a demand the next month for "thorough" investigations into the killing of Palestinians by the Israeli army.

Firmly signalling that Wallstrom needn't book any trips to Israel in the near future, the country's deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely blasted her comments as "a mix of blindness and political stupidity".

Swedish critics have also questioned the wisdom of her diplomatic strategy.

"The political actions of Margot Wallstrom are marked by controversy," said liberal commentator Lars Kriss, arguing that her anti-Israel offensive borders on "an obsession" and questioning whether she is "an asset" to Sweden.

"Margot Wallstrom has already made trouble with her habit of thinking aloud," wrote financial newspaper Dagens Industri.

"She is beginning to become a problem."

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom is the undisputed star of her 

government, but critics wonder whether her tendency to speak her mind -- not

 a quality traditionally found in diplomats -- is good for the country (AFP

Photo/Timothy A. Clary)

Rocking the boat

Wallstrom defends her approach, pointing to the huge number of people who sent her flowers after she lashed Saudi Arabia for human rights abuses in frank terms that other Western foreign ministers might have avoided in dealing with the oil-rich state.

"People long for those who stand up for their values," she told the Financial Times in September.

Last March, Riyadh recalled its ambassador to Stockholm, accusing Sweden of "flagrant interference" in its affairs after Wallstrom told parliament the country was a "dictatorship" that violated women's rights and whipped bloggers.

And around the same time, Sweden unilaterally cancelled a long-standing military cooperation deal between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia proceeded to freeze Swedish business visas to the Gulf kingdom -- but with Stockholm fearing the financial impact, Saudi business leaders were invited for talks, and the two countries have now normalised ties.

Wallstrom has also found time to condemn the "reign of terror" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Handed the foreign policy portfolio by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven -- a former metalworker well aware of his own inexperience on the international stage -- Wallstrom has come a long way for someone who started out as a lowly bank clerk in the provinces.

Born in northern Sweden, she became an activist in the 1970s in the solidly left-leaning western province of Varmland, entering parliament at the age of 25.

After a series of ministerial roles she headed to Brussels to become EU environment commissioner in 1999, then the EU Commission's vice-president in 2004.

She has spoken out tirelessly against the under-representation of women in politics, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon naming her special envoy on Sexual Violence in Conflict in 2010.

And with her country struggling to cope with a huge migrant influx, she cried on television last September when commenting on the fate of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose photo became a heartbreaking symbol of the refugee crisis when his body washed up on a Turkish beach.