‘Turkey lifts veto on NATO-Israel cooperation’

Turkey has agreed to lift its veto on cooperation between the Western military alliance of NATO and Israel — which Ankara had been obstructing since 2010, a diplomat says.

The diplomat, who sought anonymity, said on Sunday that Turkey made the decision at a ministerial meeting of 28 NATO countries in Brussels on December 4 on a proposal by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Turkey agreed to Israeli involvement in certain NATO activities, but would retain its ban on joint military maneuvers, the diplomat added.

Acknowledging the concession made by Turkey, many NATO allies of Israel agreed to drop a veto against the alliance’s cooperation with Ankara-friendly countries.

Turkey’s veto had been imposed over a 2010 attack by Israel in international waters against a Gaza Strip-headed Turkish aid ship, which killed nine Turkish activists.