JERUSALEM, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel is trying to appease the recent diplomatic rows with Turkey, as its Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon apologized for his behavior in a not-diplomatically-acceptable manner when meeting with Turkish ambassador.

    "Nevertheless, it is not my way to disrespect ambassador's honor and in the future I will clarify my position in a diplomatically acceptable manner," Ayalon said in a statement issued Tuesday night.

    But the deputy minister insisted that his protest during the meeting with the ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol "remains valid."

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement on Wednesday to express satisfaction with Ayalon's apology, saying Ayalon's protest was justified but not in an accepted diplomatic way.

    Ayalon called Celikkol to a parliament office on Monday, to express Israeli discontentment over a recent Turkish TV drama which portrays Israeli intelligence agent as a baby-kidnaper. In the beginning of the meeting, Ayalon was caught by camera to urge the photographers to pay attention that he and his assistants were sitting in higher chairs than the Turkish ambassador.

    The meeting is widely seen as an intentional humiliation to the Turkish ambassador. Ankara summoned Israeli ambassador to Turkey in the next day, and demanded explanation and apology from Israel.

    The incident has added a new weight on the already-strained bilateral relations due to Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. The Turkish government strongly condemned the offensive, and Turkish military in October banned Israeli air force to join a planned international air force exercise in Turkey reportedly due to Ankara's opposition to Israeli operation in Gaza.

    Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to travel to Ankara next week as another effort of amending the relations.