It is the first high-level visit from Israel to Turkey in 14 years

The plane carrying President Isaac Herzog and the accompanying delegation landed at Esenboğa Airport. Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and other officials welcomed Herzog at the airport.

Herzog, who will start his 2-day program in Turkey with a visit to Anıtkabir, will later meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex.

After the meeting between the delegations at the Presidential Complex, Erdoğan and Herzog will hold a joint press conference.

According to the statement made by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, bilateral relations will be reviewed in all their dimensions during the meetings during the visit to be held on March 9–10.

In the statement made by the Israeli side, it was stated that bilateral relations and the potential to expand cooperation in various fields were envisaged to be discussed during the talks.

After the talks, Herzog will attend the official dinner that President Erdogan will give in his honor at the Presidential Complex and then set off for Istanbul in the evening.

President Herzog will meet with members of the Jewish community in Istanbul tomorrow.

Change of government in Israel

Relations between the two countries were damaged by the developments that took place when former US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the "capital of Israel" on December 6, 2017, when Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud Party in Israel, was prime minister.

More than 60 Palestinians were killed and more than 3,000 injured in the attacks of Israeli soldiers, who intervened in the protests after Trump made the decision to officially move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

The Netanyahu administration insisted on its hard-line policies.

Due to the events on the Gaza border, Ankara invited Tel Aviv Ambassador Kemal Ökem to Ankara for consultations, and asked the Israeli Ambassador in Ankara, Eitan Naeh, to return to his country for a while. Shortly after, upon the request of the parties, Turkey withdrew Ambassador Gürcan Türkoğlu, Consul General in Jerusalem from Palestine, and Israel withdrew Yosef Levi Sfari, Consul General in Istanbul. Thus, the diplomatic representation between the two countries was reduced to the level of a chargé d'affaires.

After the early elections in Israel on March 23, 2021, the coalition negotiations continued for a long time.

The coalition government led by Naftali Bennett received a vote of confidence on June 13, 2021.

On June 14, Netanyahu handed over the post of prime minister, which he had held for 12 years, to his successor, Bennett.

In the meantime, the dialogue that developed between President Erdogan and the new Israeli President, Herzog, who took office on July 7, 2021, enabled the re-normalization steps to be taken between Turkey and Israel.

President Erdoğan made a phone call with his counterpart, Herzog, on July 12, 2021, and congratulated him on his inauguration.

Herzog became the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008.