Erdogan sends congratulatory message to Netanyahu

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sends a message of congratulations to Benjamin Netanyahu on the Likud leader’s victory in last week’s elections.

“I congratulate you on your victory in the elections and believe that the new government will continue diplomatic cooperation in all fields, in a way that brings peace and stability to the region,” the letter says, according to Netanyahu’s office.

Jerusalem and Ankara have slowly renewed ties over the past year, while Netanyahu was out of office, following over a decade in which the relationship was strained amid Turkish protests of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza.

Israel also expressed anger over Ankara’s support for the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

Netanyahu, who was leader during most of that period, sparred with Erdogan on several occasions, with the two often leveling angry public attacks at each other, including accusing each other of genocide.