Turkey pushes for lifting Gaza curbs in Israel talks

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday talks on restoring ties with Israel were continuing and Ankara was insisting on its demands for compensation and for “lifting restrictions” on Gaza, which is subject to an Israeli blockade.

In a speech to members of his ruling AK Party in Parliament, Mr Davutoglu said that the talks were progressing positively but that a final outcome had not been reached.

Meanwhile, the Turkish police killed two female “terrorists” in a pre-dawn raid Tuesday on a cell of suspected militants in Istanbul, media reports said.

The Dogan news agency said the clash, which also left four police lightly wounded, took place in the Gaziosmanpasa district in the north of the European side of the city.

The report did not specify which organisation the two suspects were affiliated with.But Gaziosmanpasa is known as a stronghold for supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).

The report said the pair were part of a cell linked to a mysterious bomb attack on December 1 near an Istanbul Metro station that wounded up to half a dozen people.

No group ever claimed the attack, which appeared to have targeted a passing police vehicle. Tuesday’s clash, which lasted half an hour, took place when militants opened fire on the police carrying out the raid, who responded, Dogan said.