Ankara - (AFP) - Turkey appointed an ambassador to Israel after this position had been vacant for four years, in the latest step towards normalizing relations with the Jewish state.

Cakir Ozkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat who served as Turkey's consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, was appointed to the post by presidential decree on Friday night, Turkish media reported.

Ankara withdrew its ambassador from Israel in May 2018 and expelled the Israeli envoy after dozens of Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army.

Israel responded to this by returning the Turkish consul in Jerusalem to his country.

Relations between the two sides were strained after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Israel's policy towards the Palestinians under the governments of its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Erdogan sent a congratulatory message to Netanyahu after his bloc won the elections earlier this month.