Türkiye Suspends Trade Activities With Israel

The Turkish Trade Ministry said that Türkiye halted all trade activities with Israel due to the latter's "non-stop violence" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

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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.

Ankara 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 Turkish Trade Ministry said.

Ankara will seek a formal request to be a co-plaintiff in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Palestine’s Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Türkiye is amongst the latest countries to join the case after Nicaragua and Colombia

Read more:… pic.twitter.com/f4X9ZpG5Pj

— TRT World (@trtworld) May 2, 2024

"In this respect, the second phase of the measures has been initiated and export and import transactions with Israel have been suspended for all products," it added.

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

Currently, 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.

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