Israeli President Isaac Herzog invited his Turkish counterpart President Tayyip Erdogan to visit the country during a meeting with Turkey's new ambassador, Reuters reports.

Last year, Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, became the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey since 2008, after the two countries began rebuilding relations and ending more than a decade of diplomatic rift.

They agreed in August on mutual ambassadorial appointments, and after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won elections in November, he and Erdogan agreed to continue improving relations.

Netanyahu's return to power at the head of a nationalist-religious government in December has alarmed Palestinians as well as Western and Arab allies, who fear it could heighten tensions in the Middle East.

Last week, Turkey condemned a visit by Israel's new far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, the third most important site for Islam and the holiest for Judaism.