A senior Israeli minister on Thursday accused Turkey's prime minister of blocking a compensation deal for those killed in a 2010 raid on an aid flotilla by demanding Israel end the Gaza blockade.

Israel and Turkey have been locked in 11 months of talks over compensation for nine Turkish nationals killed in a deadly Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in May 2010, with officials on both sides recently confirming they were close to a deal.

A ruling party candidate in Turkish local elections next month has been killed in an armed attack in Istanbul, media reported on Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday night outside the offices of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul's populous Beylikduzu district, Dogan news agency reported.

A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced a group of protesters to two years in jail for chanting slogans deemed insulting to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported on Wednesday.

The decision comes as Turkey is being criticized at home and abroad for adopting new Internet restrictions seen as a fresh assault on freedom of expression.

Turkey's government on Tuesday removed 166 prosecutors and judges as it stepped up a purge of the judiciary in response to a high-level graft probe, local media reported.

Those sacked included senior prosecutors in the capital Ankara, Istanbul and the western city of Izmir, the Hurriyet daily said on its website.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday vehemently rejected criticism of his country's tough new Internet curbs, saying the legislation was necessary to stop "cyber bullies running wild".

"Nobody will be tapped. Nobody's (personal) data on the Internet will be stored. Nobody's freedom will be breached," Erdogan told his ruling party lawmakers in parliament.

A Turkish court on Monday dismissed charges against members of the main activist group behind last year's nationwide anti-government protests.

The 26 members of the Taksim Solidarity Platform each faced up to 29 years in prison on charges including founding a crime syndicate, violating public order and organizing illegal protests through social media.

The European Commission on Monday hailed Turkey's support for the latest talks on a Cyprus settlement and welcomed its progress as a candidate member country in meeting EU standards.

The two sides "agreed how important a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus issue is for all our interests," EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said after he met Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Negotiators are close to striking a long-awaited deal on compensation for Turkish victims of a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla four years ago, a Turkish official said Monday.

The May 2010 Israeli assault on the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara while it was in international waters sent relations between Israel and Turkey to an all-time low.

Turkey's prime minister hit back at suggestions that new Internet regulations will limit freedom of expression, ahead of a planned demonstration in Istanbul against the curbs on Saturday.

"These regulations do not impose any censorship at all on the Internet ... On the contrary, they make it safer and freer," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul.

Ukraine on Saturday launched a terror probe into a bid by an apparently drunk man to force an airliner flying to Turkey to land in Sochi where leaders gathered for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games.

"We have launched an investigation into an attempt to commit an act of terror and an attempt to hijack a plane," Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) investigative department chief Maxim Lenko told reporters.