Turkey has announced the suspension of all economic and trade relations with Israel in protest against its military assault on Palestinians in Gaza. Ankara has also closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft and banned Israeli ships from docking at Turkish ports.
According to Al Jazeera, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan addressed a special parliamentary session on Gaza on Friday, declaring: “Over the past two years, Israel has carried out crimes against humanity in Gaza. By ignoring basic humanitarian principles, it is committing crimes akin to genocide.”
Fidan added: “All of our commercial ties are now severed. No Turkish ship will sail to their ports, and no Israeli vessel will be allowed to enter ours. Their access to our airspace is completely shut down.”
The move comes after Turkey had already suspended direct trade with Israel in May 2024. Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to nearly $7 billion in 2023. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Ankara has been one of Israel’s fiercest critics. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly labeled the attacks on Gaza as “genocide.”
Erdoğan has also compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler. Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar noted that relations between Turkey and Israel have steadily deteriorated in recent years. Beyond Gaza, Israel’s airstrikes in Syria have also raised concerns in Ankara.
“Turkey now views Israel as a threat to national security,” Serdar reported. “Diplomats in Ankara fear that if the situation remains unchecked, the two countries could even face direct military confrontation.” Analysts warn that Turkey’s latest measures may fuel further tensions in both the Middle East and global politics.
Source: Al Jazeera