Türkiye halts trade and economic transactions with Israel

Türkiye proceeds with the implementation of the second stage of measures to halt trade and economic operations with Israel, Kazinform correspondent reports.

On May 2, the Ministry of Trade announced that Türkiye fully stopped export and import transactions related to Israel, covering all products.

According to the Ministry’s statement, these new measures will be in effect "until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza." Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of National Economy of Palestine are in constant coordination “to ensure that the Palestinian people are not affected by these restrictions.”

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Twitter that blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports was a violation of previously reached agreements between the countries.In his words, Türkiye is violating agreements by blocking ports for the import and export of Israeli goods. Ankara’s decision violates the interests of the Turkish people and business, ignoring international trade agreements, he said.

On April 9, 2024, Türkiye restricted the export of 54 product groups to Israel.

“In this decision, it was emphasized that the restriction measures will remain in effect until Israel declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and allows a sufficient and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid,” the statement reads.

As  the Turkish Statistical Institute TÜİK reported, in 2023 trade turnover between Turkiye and Israel was at $6.5 billion, 76% of which falls on the Turkish export.