Israel has hinted that it may be willing to initiate action that would lead to the mending of relations with Turkey.

Ties between Turkey and Israel have been tenuous for years. They began to fray publicly after Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, lashed out at Israeli President Shimon Peres at a Davos event in 2009 following Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. They further deteriorated after a raid on a flotilla   trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza  in 2010 led to the deaths of 8 Turkish nationals.

“I see some kind of improvement and opportunities,” Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, told Turkey’s Hurriyet daily. Ayalon said that a letter could be a start. “For instance, I can think of creating a way of solving this by adapting the American-Pakistani formula. Remember, recently there were 24 Pakistani soldiers killed by mistake by American forces, and the Americans sent a letter that was accepted in Pakistan. And I believe this could be a good platform to clear away the issue.”

When asked whether this was an apology, he said: “Yes.” “If you read the text, I think that should be very clear to everyone. The American text that was sent to Pakistan, I think this is a good base to work [from]. This is what I suggest.”

“Right now, we have some lower level and we have some back channels,” Ayalon said, when asked about the communication they have with the Turkish side.

As recently as Tuesday Turkey took diplomatic action against the Jewish State, blocking its admittance to the International Agency for Renewable Energies (IRENA).