Turkey halts all trade with Israel

ANKARA | Xinhua | Turkey has halted all trade activities with Israel as of Thursday due to the latter’s “non-stop violence” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Turkish Trade Ministry said.

The move follows Türkiye’s imposition of restrictions on an array of exports to Israel since last month, which Ankara said would remain in effect until a ceasefire in Gaza is achieved.

In a statement, the ministry recalled that Ankara previously restricted the export of 54 product groups to Israel in April because the “massacre, humanitarian catastrophe and physical destruction caused by Israel continued,” and the Israeli government “ignored” international ceasefire efforts and blocked humanitarian aid.

“It is observed that the Israeli government continues its aggressive behavior and the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine worsens,” the ministry said.

“In this respect, the second phase of the measures taken at the state level has been initiated and export and import transactions with Israel have been suspended for all products,” said the statement.

Türkiye will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows the uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, it added.

On the other hand, the Turkish Trade Ministry is coordinating with Palestinian authorities to ensure that Palestinian people “who are forced to live under occupation” are not affected by these restrictions, the ministry noted.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, trade between the two countries amounted to 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, with Turkish exports accounting for 76 percent of the total.

Also on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media platform X that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “is breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.”

Katz accused Erdogan of “disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements,” adding that he has instructed his ministry to “immediately engage with all relevant parties in the government to create alternatives for trade with Türkiye, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.”

The reported trade move of Ankara came after Türkiye had already imposed restrictions on an array of exports to Israel since last month, which Ankara said would remain in effect pending a ceasefire in Gaza.

The export restrictions were enacted after Israel blocked Turkish military planes from dropping aid into Gaza. Türkiye’s embargo list included dozens of items, such as iron and steel products, aviation fuel, construction equipment, cement, and chemicals. In response, Israel announced it would boycott products manufactured in Türkiye.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, trade between the two countries amounted to 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, with Turkish exports accounting for 76 percent of the total. ■