Turkey stops all trade with Israel over ‘humanitarian tragedy’ in Gaza

Turkey has halted all trade with Israel, citing the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories, which prompted strong criticism from the Israeli foreign minister.

“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s trade ministry said late on Thursday.

“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, accused Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of acting like a “dictator” after the restrictions were first reported.

The row will probably deepen tensions between the two formerly close allies, which have deteriorated since the start of the crisis in Gaza.

Palestinian group Hamas killed an estimated 1,136 Israeli citizens on 7 October and took about 250 people hostage, and since then Israel has sent soldiers into Gaza and bombarded the territory, killing more than 34,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Turkey’s trade ministry first announced restrictions on exports to Israel in early April, stopping the export of iron and steel products and construction equipment. The two countries had a trade volume of $6.8bn in 2023.

Katz said Erdoğan was “breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports”.

He said: “This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements.”

Katz added that Israel would try to replace any lost products via local production and imports from other countries.

Last month, Katz criticised Erdoğan for his decision to publicise his latest meeting in Istanbul with the head of Hamas’s politburo, Ismail Haniyeh.

Source: The Guardian