Israel and Turkey have decided to restore full diplomatic ties and will return ambassadors to each other's countries following a steady improvement in relations, Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office said on Wednesday.
"Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties between the two peoples, expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and strengthening regional stability," the statement said.
The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
A visit to Turkey by President Isaac Herzog in March, followed by visits by both foreign ministers, helped warm relations after more than a decade of tensions.
"It was decided to upgrade once again the level of the relations between the two countries to that of full diplomatic ties and to return ambassadors and consuls general from the two countries," the statement said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the "appointment of ambassadors was one of the steps for the normalization of ties. Such a positive step came from Israel as a result of these efforts, and as Turkey, we also decided to appoint an ambassador to Israel, to Tel Aviv," Cavusoglu said.
"We are beginning the process to determine who will be appointed," he added, speaking at a press conference in Ankara.
President Herzog welcomed the normalization on his Twitter page, writing: "I commend the renewal of full diplomatic relations with Turkey—an important development that we've been leading for the past year, which will encourage greater economic relations, mutual tourism, and friendship between the Israeli and Turkish peoples."
The move, which comes as Israel has sought to improve ties with regional powers, was agreed two years after the so-called Abraham Accords which saw relations normalized between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco