Daily Briefing Aug. 18: Turkey & Israel mend relations; defensive defense minister

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

A Palestinian teenager was killed as heavy clashes broke out in Nablus late Wednesday and early Thursday while Jewish worshipers held a monthly pilgrimage to a shrine called Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian West Bank city under military guard. Fabian explains why this is such a conflict-ridden area.

We’ve been discussing the possibility of renewed diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey for months. Berman enlightens us on what the final impetus was and what the new diplomatic ties mean for Israelis.

We spoke yesterday on the podcast about a statement made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he claimed — and then somewhat walked back — that Israel has inflicted 50 holocausts on his people. The fallout continues, including a defensive posture from Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Media reports have leaked preliminary results of an IDF investigation into the deaths of five children in Gaza during the recent conflict. What are the unofficial findings?

Staff Sgt. Nathan Fitoussi was fatally shot this week by a comrade in arms when returning to his post after prayer. Fabian and Berman discuss some potential lessons learned from this and other friendly fire incidents.