Washington, DC— Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement in response to reports that Israeli and Turkish officials have reached a draft agreement to mend their diplomatic crisis.

The statement follows:

“I welcome reports that Israeli and Turkish officials have reached a draft agreement to mend their diplomatic crisis. Normalization of the Israel-Turkey relationship is important in light of growing threats from Syria and Iran – challenges which greatly affect the security of both nations. I hope Prime Minister Erdogan will use this opportunity to walk back his anti-Israel rhetoric, and sever his close ties with the Hamas terror organization.”

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