Ankara (TDI): Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkiye has ended all trade and economic ties with Israel, barred its own vessels from docking at Israeli ports, closed Turkish ports to Israeli ships, and shut Turkish airspace to Israeli aircraft; specially those linked to arms or military cargo.
The announcement came during an extraordinary parliamentary session focused on the ongoing Israel’s war on Gaza, on Friday. Fidan said Israel has been “committing genocide in Gaza for the past two years, ignoring basic humanitarian values right before the world’s eyes.” (reported by Al Jazeera)
As Israel intensifies attacks in an attempt to fully occupy Gaza and forcibly displace its population, Turkiye becomes the first country to completely break off ties with Israel.
The country had already halted direct trade with Israel in May 2024, demanding a permanent ceasefire and uninterrupted humanitarian access to Gaza. The bilateral trade between the two countries had been around $7 billion in 2023.
While Fidan did not elaborate on enforcement mechanisms of these measures, Turkish port authorities were reportedly already asking shipping agents to submit declarations that vessels are not linked to Israel or carrying hazardous cargo.
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“We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” Fidan added, as reported by Reuters.
Fidan also revealed that Ankara has obtained presidential approval for humanitarian air drops to Gaza, contingent on clearance from Jordan.
The underlying motivation for cutting ties with Israel, Fidan said, is rooted in outrage over Israel’s genocide in Gaza; Turkiye being one of the many countries that have categorically condemned these actions.
Turkish parliament speaker, Numan Kurtulmuş, even called on the United Nations to suspend Israel’s membership.
Commercial Israeli flights continued to traverse Turkish airspace, which suggests that Turkiye’s restrictions currently target military, government, or specific arms-related flights, rather than broadly apply to all civil aviation.
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