Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Eitan Naeh will arrive in Turkey today and is expected to present his letter of credence to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Israel appointed Naeh as its ambassador to Turkey in mid-November as part of the normalization process between the two countries that began in July.

Naeh is the current deputy head of mission at the Israeli Embassy in London and he had also previously worked in Israel's Ankara embassy in 1993.

Both countries decided to appoint ambassadors after a six-year dispute due to the Mavi Marmara incident.Relations between Turkey and Israel declined in 2010 following an Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid ship, the Mavi Marmara, en route to delivering humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. The Israeli raid killed 10 activists, leading to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

The normalization process started after the leaders of the two countries held a conciliatory phone call in 2013 and negotiations have intensified this year to clear the way for a mutual return of ambassadors.Israel also agreed to pay $20 million in compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims.