Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going ahead with his planned visit next month to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, despite a request from US Secretary of State John Kerry to postpone the trip. Erdogan reportedly refused Kerry's request Sunday to postpone the visit, during a meeting between the two leaders in Istanbul. Erdogan had previously postponed his visit from this month until next, to take place after a scheduled meeting in Washington in mid-May.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also asked Erdogan to delay the visit during a meeting between the two men in Istanbul, saying it could harm relations between the West Bank and Gaza.
Erdogan reportedly plans to visit Gaza on or around 31 May, the third anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident in which nine Turkish citizens were killed when Israeli naval commandos raided the ship attempting to break Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Meanwhile, Israeli negotiators on Monday met in Ankara with Turkish officials to discuss paying compensation to the families of the victims of the 2010 raid. The negotiations are part of the process of restoring diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey which were severed following the raid and which began the process of being repaired following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology last month to Erdogan.
