Renowned Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises to perform in Jerusalem as Israel-Turkey hostility thaws

Turkish musical titan Ibrahim Tatlises will perform in Israel this summer as tensions between Israel and Turkey start to thaw.

The singer, who was is of Arab and Kurdish descent, is set to perform in Jerusalem on 28 June.

"Hello Israel, I am happy and waiting to perform with you... The Israeli audience has a warm corner of my heart," Israeli media quoted Tatlises as saying in a press release.

Tatlises is one of Turkey's most successful and prolific artists. He last performed in Israel in 2005.

The singer is a longtime ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who for years has been a vocal opponent of Israel's oppressive policies toward Palestinians.

However, ties between Israel and Turkey appear to have warmed in recent months.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog visited Turkey in March to "restart" ties between the two countries.

Erdogan hailed the meeting as a "turning point" in Israel-Turkey relations.

In 2014, Tatlises expressed opposition to Israel's assault on the besieged Gaza Strip.

"I know I am very loved in ISRAEL BUT I cannot rejoice," he said at the time of the deadly offensive.

"The people of Israel have nothing to do with it and I do not believe that they are happy!"

Palestinians have urged artists not to perform in Israel in a bid to pressure Tel Aviv into adhering to international law and ending its illegal occupation of the West Bank.