The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has invited his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to visit his country, a new sign that relations between the two countries have begun to improve, Reuters reports, Agerpres reads.

The Israeli president sent this invitation through Israel’s new ambassador, whom he received on Wednesday.

Last year, Herzog, whose duties are largely ceremonial, was the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008, when the two countries began to restore relations to end a diplomatic rift that had lasted more than a decade.

The two agreed in August to each appoint an ambassador to the other country, and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won elections in November, he and Erdogan agreed to continue the process of improving relations between Israel and Turkey.

„I am sure that we will all work to strengthen the relations between our countries,” said Herzog.

Netanyahu’s return to power in December as head of a religious-nationalist government has caused concern among the Palestinians and their Arab allies, who fear it could escalate tensions in the Middle East.

Last week, Turkey rallied to voices condemning a visit by Israel’s new far-right national security minister, Ben Gvir, to the Al Aqsa mosque.

At the beginning of January, Ben Gvir undertook, under conditions of maximum security, a short visit to the Esplanade of Mosques, a holy place at the center of tensions in East Jerusalem, despite the threats made by the Palestinian movement Hamas.

The third holy place of Islam and the holiest place of Judaism, under the name „Temple Mount”, the Esplanade is located in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in the Palestinian sector occupied and annexed by Israel.

Agerpres