Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan departs Monday on a four-day diplomatic visit to North Africa, in a trip aimed at expanding Turkey's growing influence in a region full of political upheaval.

Prime Minister Erdogan will begin his trip in Cairo, where he is expected to meet with the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and Mr. Erdogan's Egyptian counterpart, Essam Sharaf.

The Turkish leader also plans to lay out his regional foreign policy vision during meetings with the Arab League, as well as with the young leaders who helped oust former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in a popular revolt earlier this year.

Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to visit Tunisia Wednesday, as well as meet with the head of Libya's National Transitional Council on Thursday.

Some in Israel have expressed concern that Mr. Erdogan's “Arab Spring” diplomatic tour will stoke anti-Israeli tension, as the the trip comes at a point when Turkish-Israeli relations have hit new lows.

The former allies have been engaged in a dispute over Israel's refusal to apologize for its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship last year. Turkey recently expelled the Israeli ambassador and other top diplomats from Ankara, and has suspended military trade and cooperation with Israel.

Israel is also involved in a separate diplomatic tussle with Egypt, where protesters burst into the Israeli embassy on Friday, prompting the evacuation of Israeli personnel.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt have been tense since Israeli forces killed five Egyptian police officers last month along the Israel-Egypt border while responding to a cross-border militant raid that killed eight Israelis.