Turkey has halted all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, announced the Turkish trade ministry, citing the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territories.
“All export and import transactions involving Israel have been suspended, encompassing all products,” stated Turkey’s trade ministry.
“These new measures will be rigorously and decisively enforced by Turkey until the Israeli Government permits an uninterrupted and adequate flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
In 2023, the two nations recorded a trade volume of USD 6.8 billion.
Last month, Turkey imposed trade restrictions on Israel, alleging that Israel had denied Ankara participation in aid air-drop operations for Gaza and had launched an offensive on the enclave.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s foreign minister accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of violating agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.
“This is the behavior of a dictator, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and disregarding international trade agreements,” posted Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz on the social media platform X.
Katz stated that he instructed the foreign ministry to explore alternatives for trade with Turkey, with a focus on local production and imports from other countries.
