ÿþ<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Israel expects reconciliation with Turkey to remain on course</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY TEXT=#000000 BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF> <CENTER><H1>Israel expects reconciliation<BR>with Turkey to remain on course</H1> <H3>By Jeffrey Heller and David Stamp | <A HREF=http://www.reuters.com TARGET=_blank>Reuters</A> | July 17, 2016</H3></CENTER> <!-- http://www.reuters.com/article/us turkey security israel idUSKCN0ZX0CP --> <FONT SIZE=4> <P><A HREF=Benjamin.Netanyahu-01.jpg TARGET=_blank><IMG SRC=Benjamin.Netanyahu-01a.jpg ALIGN=right WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=167 HSPACE=5 ALT="Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, 17 July 2016."></A>Israel reacted tersely on Sunday to a thwarted coup in Turkey, saying it expected a new reconciliation deal between the two regional powers following a six-year rift to be implemented as planned.</P> <P>Violence erupted in Turkey late on Friday after the start of the Jewish Sabbath, when most government business officially takes a break.</P> <P>This allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu time to consider his response on the move against Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, long a critic of Israeli policies but now a key player in the rapprochement with Israel.</P> <P>When the announcement came, it was brief and measured, coming three weeks after Israel and Turkey  once its principal Muslim ally  signed an accord to restore relations.</P> <P>"Israel and Turkey recently agreed on a reconciliation process. We estimate that this process will continue, unrelated to the dramatic events in Turkey over the weekend," Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised comments.</P> <P>On Saturday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman sent a text message to reporters on Saturday that spoke of Israel's respect for "the democratic process in Turkey".</P> <P>Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed a Turkish activist ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turks on board.</P> <P>Israel, which had already offered its apologies for the raid, agreed under the deal to pay out $20 million to the bereaved and injured.</P> <P>Both countries are to appoint ambassadors, and Turkey is to pass legislation indemnifying Israeli soldiers as part of an agreement partly driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals.</P> </FONT> </BODY> </HTML>