Turkey suspends trade with Israel over Gaza war
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Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel because of the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” unfolding in Gaza, the country’s trade ministry said on Thursday.
“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” the ministry said.
“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Trade between Turkey and Israel was worth almost £5.6bn in 2023.
After the restrictions were first reported, Israel’s foreign minister accused Turkey’s president of acting like a “dictator”.
Israel Katz wrote on X that Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements”.
Mr Katz added that he had directed the foreign ministry to work on developing alternatives for trade with Turkey, emphasising local manufacturing and sourcing imports from different countries.
Mr Katz has previously hit out at Mr Erdogan for publicising his meeting with the head of Hamas’s politburo. The Israeli minister shared a photo on X showing the Turkish president shaking hands with Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul.
.@RTErdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports. This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements. I have instructed the Director General of the…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 2, 2024
Turkey, a staunch critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, had restricted the export of 54 types of products to Israel last month after Tel Aviv refused to let Ankara airdrop aid to Gaza’s starving Palestinian population.
Mr Erdogan said at the time that Turkey no longer continued “intense trade” with Israel. “That is done,” he added.
On Thursday, it was announced that the country had gone further, stopping all trade with Israel. “The Israeli government continues its aggressive attitude, and the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine is worsening,” it said in a statement.
“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement the new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” the statement added.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people so far, according to local officials, displacing almost two million people and leaving most of the Palestinian enclave in ruins.
Additional reporting with agencies
