Turkish foreign minister’s visit to Israel ‘very important’: Spokesman

JERUSALEM

An Israeli spokesman on Tuesday hailed Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s visit to Israel as "very important."

“This is a very important visit and part of a process to warm up relations between the two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Khayyat told Anadolu Agency.

Cavusoglu arrived in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport earlier Tuesday and headed to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

The top Turkish diplomat will meet on Wednesday with several Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation network (KAN).

In March, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara and met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar