Tourist arrivals in Israel surge amid appeasement with Turkey

The number of incoming visitors in Israel has jumped by 29 percent between April and June amidst Israel's appeasement with Turkey, according to data released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Head of the Overseas Department in the Tourism Ministry Pini Shani told Xinhua that the increase was mainly attributed to tourists who went on vacation in Turkey and take a day flight or cruise to Israel. "Last year the tension between the two countries caused almost complete suspension of flights between Turkey and Israel," Shani said. However, the thaw in relations quickly revived tourism. According to the new figures, only in June, some 295,000 visitors entered Israel, 3 percent more than the figure in June 2012 before the thaw. The relations between Turkey and Israel were brought to a halt in May 2010, after a deadly attack by Israeli navy on the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza killed pro-Palestinian activists, including nine Turks. However, the relations thawed in March 2013, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an apology to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and agreed to compensate flotilla attack victims.