Israel's defense minister Moshe Yaalon accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State for a "very, very long period of time," which means the country is sponsoring the terrorist group. During a meeting with Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos in Athens, Yaalon said he hope Turkey's purchase of Daesh oil will end.
Turkey, however, denied allegation, according to a report by BBC. The country said it prohibits IS smuggling. Meanwhile, the US recently denied the allegations from Russia that Turkey is coordinating with the radical Muslims. ISIS has vast oil fields under their territories in Syria and Iraq.
During his meeting with Kammenos, Yaalon said, "It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism."
Yaalon even accused Turkey of letting jihadist freely travel from Europe to Syria and Iraq to expand Daesh's terrorist network. Jewish and Israel News reported that Turkey and Israel are trying to rebuild their diplomatic ties after it deteriorated in 2010 due to the Mavi Marmara flotilla issue.
These allegations come as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are conducting a series of diplomatic activities. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsiparas will head to Jerusalem Wednesday along with 10 other Greek government officials to meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asbarez wrote that PM Netanyahu and Tukey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have both expressed willingness to patch up the rift between the two nations. Erdoğan told the media last month that normalization between the two countries is achievable if both sides agree on a compensation deal for the victims of the raid, and if Israel will lift the blockade on Palestinians.
The Turkish president said the region can benefit a lot if normalization pushes through. Meanwhile, Netanyahu told Turkish media that he was hopeful that normalization between Israel and Turkey can be achieved.
