ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye on Thursday appointed Sakir Ozkan Torunlar as its ambassador to Israel as the two countries stepped up to normalize ties by mutually designating envoys.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the decree to designate Torunlar as Türkiye's ambassador, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Torunlar served as Türkiye's consul general to Jerusalem between 2010-2014.
In September, Israel named Irit Lillian, the current charge d'affairs of the Israeli embassy in Ankara, as its new ambassador to Türkiye.
Türkiye and Israel have been working to mend their ties after years of enmity, including talks on exporting natural gas from Israel to Europe via Türkiye.
The relations between the two countries were strained in 2010 when a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip clashed with Israeli forces, leaving 10 Turks on board killed.
In 2018, Türkiye expelled the Israeli ambassador after Israeli forces killed Palestinians during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. ■
