Turkey has announced the suspension of all trade relations and activities with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza – where more than 34,500 Palestinians have been killed – until Israel guarantees a permanent ceasefire and allows unimpeded humanitarian aid into the Strip, the Eurasian country’s trade ministry said in a statement late yesterday, confirming that “export and import transactions related to Israel have ceased, covering all products“.
“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” the statement from Ankara said. Turkey is one of Israel’s main trading partners, with bilateral trade in goods worth around $7 billion a year.
Speaking on Friday, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat stressed that Israel’s “intransigent attitude” and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Rafah region of Gaza – where Israel is threatening to launch a new offensive – have forced Turkey to suspend all exports and imports with the Israeli state. Bolat described the move as the “second phase” of Ankara’s sanctions against Israel.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan himself referred to this issue today in statements to the press from Istanbul, in which he said that Turkey has decided to impose these measures because it cannot stand “by and watch” in the face of everything that is happening in Gaza. “We have closed the door to the point that it’s like there is no trade volume (with Israel). There is nothing that is acceptable about what is happening between Israel and Palestine… As Muslims, it is unthinkable for us to stand by and watch while this is going on,” the Turkish president said, insisting that Turkey can no longer tolerate the “merciless” killing of Palestinians. “Therefore, we have taken action,” he stressed.
The decision to completely suspend trade relations with Israel over the Israeli army’s brutal offensive in Gaza is the second step in the sanctions announced by Turkey, which last April announced as a first measure the imposition of restrictions on the export of 54 commodities to Israel, including chemical fertilisers for agriculture or construction materials such as aluminium or steel. Israel, in turn, responded to these sanctions by introducing new tariffs against the import of several Turkish products not included in the ban.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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