Turkey agreed to return one of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions in existence to Israel, marking another improvement of Jerusalem-Ankara relations.
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The agreement was discussed during the landmark visit of Israel's President Isaac Herzog to Turkey earlier this week, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
In return, Israel offered to send Turkey a historical and religiously significant item that is held in an Israeli museum.
There was no immediate confirmation from Turkey.
The Siloam Inscription, currently housed in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, is a 2,700-year-old ancient Hebrew text that supports the biblical account of a tunnel that brought water from the Pool of Siloam to the City of David.
"Pool of Siloam" refers to a number of rock-cut pools considered by some archaeologists to be the original site of Jerusalem, located southeast of the Old City.
According to ToI, the six-line inscription described the tunnel's excavators calling to one another as they finished the project and as "water flowed from the source to the pool."
Israel has tried several times to acquire the inscription from Turkey, which long-insisted that the tablet is the property of the Ottoman Empire that ruled Jerusalem between the 16th and 20th centuries.
A shift in Ankara's stance on the archaeological piece could be another signal that ties with Israel are warming.
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After Herzog met with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Ankara's leader said the "historic visit will be a turning point in relations."
"During these days in particular we want to send message to the world that we are working together in a different direction to bring hope to this region," Erdogan added.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
