(IraqiNews.com) The Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak announced, on Wednesday, that an alliance with Turkey would be a key element in the regional stability, in a new attempt by Israel to re-strengthen its ties with its ally for a long time.

Barak stated before the graduates of the National Institute for Security, “Turkey alongside Israel represents a pivotal element from the viewpoint of the strategic stability.”

It is worth to be mentioned that the bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel witnessed serious crisis in 2010 when the Israeli army killed nine Turks while blocking way of a Turkish ship while it was attempting with other ships to break the siege imposed by the Israeli navy on Gaza Strip.

In the last year, Turkey dismissed the Israeli embassy in Ankara and ended its military and defense relations with Israel, in return Israel canceled a contract to sell Ankara military equipments.

Israel refuses to apologize for Turkey and to pay compensations for the families of the Turkish deaths.