Israel’s President Isaac Herzog met Dec. 1 with Natali and Mordi Oknin, who were liberated two weeks ago from an eight-day detention in Turkey. The couple thanked the president for his efforts to release them.

The Oknins were arrested Nov. 9 after taking pictures of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace in Istanbul while visiting the Camlica Tower. Turkish authorities suspected the couple were involved in espionage. They were both released from detention Nov. 18, following an extensive discrete diplomatic campaign that involved Herzog, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Israeli Charge d’Affair in Turkey Irit Lilian and Israeli security agencies.

For Jerusalem, the release of the couple was interpreted as a positive diplomatic signal by Ankara. Shortly after the release, Herzog called Erdogan to thank him for his personal involvement in the affair. A statement by Herzog’s office said that in the phone call, Erdogan “emphasized the importance that he attaches to relations with Israel, which he said were of key importance to the peace, stability and security of the Middle East.” Later that day, Bennett also called the Turkish president to thank him. It was the first phone call between the two leaders since Bennett took office.

Erdogan and his associates have made in the past year several positive declarations vis-a-vis Israel. But the release of the Oknin couple was the first time that Ankara made a tangible public move in this direction. Still, Jerusalem evidently expected and expects more, as could be seen in a tweet posted by Lapid Nov. 22. Lapid was calling for the closure of Hamas offices in Istanbul, following reports that this office was involved in the planning of a terrorist attack that was perpetrated in Jerusalem a day earlier.