"I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship"

Turkey and Israel should improve their diplomatic ties and accept the recommendations of a UN report which looked into the deaths of nine Turks in the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound ship, the UN secretary-general has said.

Ban Ki-moon said strong ties between Turkey and Israel, which both share a border with Syria, were important for the Middle East.

"I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship," Ban told reporters in Canberra, Australia, on Saturday after talks with Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister.

"Both countries are very important countries in the region. Their improved relationship, normal relationship, will be very important in addressing all the situations in the Middle East, including the Middle East peace process."

Ban said he would make no comment on the specifics of the report, written by a panel headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer.

"My only wish is that they should try to improve their relationship and do whatever they can to implement the recommendations and findings of this panel's report," he said.

The report found Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip was "legal", but that Israel used unreasonable force when its commandos raided the ship, despite meeting strong resistance from those on board.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated drastically since the UN report was made public on Thursday. Turkey has expelled Israel's ambassador and frozen military co-operation after the report failed to prompt an apology from Israel.