Israel and Turkey are doing something they haven't done in six years: holding high-level diplomatic talks. On Feb. 1, Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem met with his Turkish counterpart, Umit Yalcin, in Ankara. Rotem also met with Israeli Embassy consular staff and plans to meet with members of the Turkish Jewish community, as well as Istanbul's governor. Turkey will follow up by sending its culture and tourism minister to Tel Aviv from Feb. 7-8 to meet with his Israeli counterpart. Though Israel and Turkey exchanged ambassadors in December, these meetings are an effort to make good on a reconciliation agreement struck in 2016 to resume the countries' ruptured relations.

Soured Israeli-Turkish ties trace back to 2010. In response to the threat that the Hamas militant group presented to Israeli security, Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip, a practice that continues to this day. A Turkish organization attempted to send aid to Gaza in a flotilla, but as it tried to break the blockade, Israeli soldiers killed nine activists aboard the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara. Turkey broke ties with Israel in 2011, demanding reparations for the victims' families, a formal apology and an end to the blockade to allow aid into Gaza. Relations remained cold for years after, though coordination, meetings and business between Turkey and Israel quietly continued.

But circumstances have changed, especially as the two countries' interests have slowly came back into alignment. For a few years, Turkey didn't need strong Israeli ties. Ankara was busy trying to sow its influence in the Middle East by supporting Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, following the wave of popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring. When the Muslim Brotherhood fell from power in Egypt in 2013, however, Turkey began to reassess its support for Islamist political movements, including Hamas. Of course, Turkey still wants to build relationships with Palestinian Muslims to improve its negotiating position with other Sunni Muslim powers in the region, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But Hamas' political clout has subsided, and Israel has managed to keep the group in check. Consequently, it has become less of a sticking point in Israeli-Turkish relations.

In June 2016, Israel and Turkey pieced together their reconciliation deal. Israel's government agreed to pay reparations to the families of the Mavi Marmara victims, in keeping with Ankara's original demands. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already given a formal apology for the incident in 2013.) As for the final Turkish demand — lifting the blockade — the two countries resolved it by discussing a potential seaport in Gaza. In addition, Turkish aid shipments can now reach Gaza after first going through the Israeli Port of Ashdod.

For Israel, functional relations with Turkey have always been essential. Israel has long sought to become a major energy exporter by developing its undersea natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Ties with Turkey and investments from Turkish companies will help in this matter, though efforts to reunify Cyprus will complicate a proposed joint subsea pipeline, which would traverse the island nation's waters. A positive rapport with Turkey also ensures that Israel has ties to a country with influence among Syria's rebels as well as Palestinian groups. Moreover, Israel and Turkey are joined in their animosity toward another regional power, Iran. Israeli-Turkish cooperation will never be without contention. Still, maintaining warm ties is in both countries' best interest.