New Turkish envoy shows copy of credentials

After landing in Israel last night, incoming Turkish ambassador to Israel Kemal Okem presented a copy of his credentials to the foreign ministry, a day ahead of him officially starting work and drawing to a close a chapter that saw over six years of frayed ties between the countries.

Okem hands a copy of his credentials to Foreign Ministry Director Meron Reuven in a small ceremony. On Monday, he is slated to hand his credentials to President Reuven Rivlin, officially upgrading ties.

השגריר הטורקי המיועד מסר את העתק כתב האמנה בין המדינות לראש חטיבת הטקס במשרד החוץ, מירון ראובן. צילום: משרד החוץ @MoavVardi pic.twitter.com/m7G0tUob1F

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) December 11, 2016

Okem is a foreign policy expert and close confidant of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Last week Israeli ambassador Eitan Na’eh handed his credentials to Erdogan in Ankara.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used part of his weekly cabinet meeting to condemn a deadly bombing the night before at a stadium in Turkey.

“I condemn all terror in Turkey and expect that Turkey will condemn all attack in Israel,” he said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. “The campaign against terror demands mutual condemnation and mutual eradication, and that is the expectation of Israel from all the countries with which we are in contact.”