Turkey halts trade with Israel over Gaza humanitarian crisis

Ankara [Turkey], May 03: Turkey has halted all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing the escalating humanitarian situation in Gaza, announced the Turkish Ministry of Trade, Al Jazeera reported.

"Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products," the ministry said in a statement 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."

The decision follows remarks by Israel's foreign minister, who accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of violating agreements by obstructing Israeli imports and exports from ports.

"This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements," Israel Katz posted on X.

Katz disclosed that he has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explore alternative trade options with Turkey, focusing on domestic production and imports from other nations.

In 2023, the trade volume between the two nations amounted to USD 6.8 billion.

Last month, Turkey imposed trade restrictions on Israel, alleging Israel's obstruction of Ankara's participation in Gaza aid airdrops and its military actions in the region.

When questioned about Turkey's continued trade relations with Israel despite Ankara's strong rhetoric, Erdogan responded last month by stating that Turkey no longer engages in "intense trade" with Israel, asserting, "That is done." However, he did not explicitly state that Ankara had completely ceased all trade with Israel, Al Jazeera reported.