Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon's televised dressing down of the ambassador on Monday prompted Turkey to demand an apology.
Turkey on Wednesday threatened to recall its envoy to Israel unless it received a formal apology over his treatment, in a row that has made even frostier the chilly ties between Jewish state and Muslim regional power.
Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon's televised dressing down of the ambassador on Monday prompted Turkey to demand an apology, after which Ayalon issued a statement conceding his behaviour toward the envoy had been inappropriate.
But Turkey's president Abdullah Gul, who is scheduled to host Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak on Sunday, rebuffed what Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as the "apology" from Ayalon. Ayalon stopped short of using the word.
"If the problem is not resolved by tonight the ambassador will come to Turkey for consultations," he told reporters during a reception on Wednesday.
Clarifying his words, an official at Gul's office told Reuters, "What the president meant by resolving the problem is that Turkey wants a formal apology".
Turkish officials said they had not received a communication from Israel through official channels and that they had learned of Ayalon's and Netanyahu's words only through the media.
But an Israeli diplomat in Jerusalem said Ayalon's statement had been passed directly to the foreign ministry in Ankara by Israel's embassy there.
Ayalon said in his statement, "My protest against the attacks on Israel in Turkey remains valid," referring to Turkish leaders'' criticisms of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians and to a Turkish television drama which portrayed Israeli diplomats as criminals.
"Nevertheless," the statement continued, "It is not my way to disrespect ambassadors'' honour and in the future I will clarify my position in a diplomatically acceptable manner."
The statement from Netanyahu's office said, "The prime minister feels that the protest issued to the Turkish ambassador was fundamentally correct but it should have been conveyed in the conventional diplomatic mode".
Ayalon had made clear in televised remarks that he would not shake hands with the ambassador, Oguz Celikkol, ensured no Turkish flag was displayed on the table and made the envoy sit on a low couch, confronted by three Israeli officials in higher chairs, in order to ram home his displeasure with Ankara.
As a predominantly Muslim nation, albeit with a secular constitution, as well as a NATO military power, Turkey is a key ally for Israel in the Middle East. As well as providing security cooperation, Ankara has offered Israel diplomatic intercession in the past, notably mediating with Syria in 2008.
Barak, one of whose priorities is countering a perceived nuclear threat from Turkey's neighbour Iran, was due to hold talks in Turkey on Sunday at Gul's invitation.
Bilateral ties have become especially frosty since Israel's war in the Palestinian Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip a year ago, which drew frequent public censure from Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose party's roots lie in political Islam.
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman urged the Turkish leadership to use official channels for such criticism.
"We have had good relations with Turkey for many years and we respect the Turkish state and people," he told reporters during a visit to Cyprus on Wednesday.
"But that is exactly what we expect in return -- for them to treat us with dignity and respect. Any issues or questions that they may have can be raised using dialogue, direct dialogue, even if we don't see eye-to-eye (on) some issues."
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