Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday that Israel had recently thwarted several attempted attacks on Israelis in Turkey through close cooperation with Turkish authorities, but the threat was not lifted yet.
"There's an ongoing campaign in Turkey and a threat looming over Israelis in Turkey. We are working there on many different angles to keep our citizens safe," he told a press briefing.
"Along with calling on Israeli nationals to avoid flying to Turkey, especially Istanbul, we are also working closely with Turkish authorities to thwart attempts to harm Israelis and Jews.
The operational efforts together with the Turkish security apparatus bore fruit. In recent days, through a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we have foiled a number of attempted attacks and arrested several terrorists on Turkish soil."
Israel's National Security Council issued a severe travel warning late last month urging Israelis to avoid traveling to Turkey and several other destinations bordering Iran, fearing Iranian revenge for a flurry of high-profile deaths that have struck the Islamic Republic in recent weeks, which Tehran blames on the Jewish state.
Bennett stressed that despite recent successes, the travel warning for Israelis still stands. He also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for Ankara's cooperation with Jerusalem "on all levels".
"We will keep working together with the aim of bringing the situation back to normal and bringing Israeli tourists back to Turkey as soon as possible," he said.
On Sunday, President Isaac Herzog spoke to Erdoğan and thanked him for Ankara's efforts to keep Israelis in Turkey safe. In their conversation, the two leaders highlighted how the cooperation between the countries was helping in the trust-building process between them.
Jerusalem and Ankara have been working to mend fences in recent months after a years-long rift. This newfound bonhomie between the countries culminated in Herzog's visit to Ankara in March, the first by an Israeli president in 14 years.