Posted by Turkey has declared a complete halt to all trade with Israel, citing the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza as the reason.
According to the Turkish commerce ministry, the embargo would be maintained until Israel allows a “uninterrupted and sufficient flow” of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
All products will be subject to the trade suspension, according to the Turkish government.
Amid rising tensions caused by Israel’s offensive in the region, this new development has emerged.
Nearly $7 billion was the total value of trade between Israel and Turkey last year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was accused by Israel’s foreign minister of behaving dictatorially and ignoring the interests of Turkish citizens and businesses in response to Turkey’s statement.
Israel has stated its intention to explore other trade avenues, with a focus on domestic manufacturing and international imports.
For a long time, diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey were fraught with tension.
The 2010 incident on a ship trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza led to clashes between pro-Palestinian Turkish activists and Israeli commandos, which led to Turkey cutting ties with Israel. Casualties were reported.
In spite of the fact that diplomatic ties were repaired in 2016, they deteriorated once more in 2018 as a result of the expulsion of senior diplomats from both nations due to differences in opinion over Israel’s response to protests along the Gaza-Israel border.
But since last year’s murderous Hamas attack on Israel in October, relations between the two countries have recently escalated.