Obama has been pressuring Netanyahu for years to apologize over the flotilla raid (the vessel was packed with hardline Islamists), it appears he finally got his way.

AMMAN—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan spoke by telephone Friday, after a prolonged effort by President Barack Obama and his aides to overcome a deep chill that had settled into the relationship between Israel and Turkey.

“I welcome the call today between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Erdogan,” Obama said in a written statement issued as he departed Israel for Jordan during a trip to the Mideast. “The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security.  I am hopeful that today’s exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities.”

Update: According to Fox News, Obama was also on the call.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a phone call joined by President Obama, apologized to Turkey Friday for the deaths of its citizens during a 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.

Netanyahu acknowledged “operational mistakes” in the raid, according to one official. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan accepted the apology. The phone call was described as a “first step” toward normalizing relations between the two countries.

Obama, who arrived in Jordan Friday after his first visit to Israel as president, is thought to have arranged the call.