Turkey has completely severed economic and trade ties with Israel, closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft, and banned Turkish ships from Israeli ports. The government cut direct trade ties in May demanding a permanent ceasefire and immediate humanitarian access to Gaza. In 2023 bilateral trade totaled $7bn. Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Turkish leaders view Israel increasingly as a national security threat, citing Israeli expansionism, regional attacks, and alleged undermining of Syria's recovery after years of civil war.
Turkiye's top diplomat said his country has completely' cut off trade with Israel over its ongoing genocide. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country has completely severed economic and trade ties with Israel and has closed its airspace to its aircraft, in protest over the war in Gaza. Speaking at an extraordinary session of the Turkish parliament 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.
Ankara has not minced its words about Israel's war on Gaza, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling it a genocide like many other world leaders and leading human rights organistions and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. We have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We do not allow their planes to enter our airspace, Fidan said.
The Turkish foreign minister's condemnation comes amid years of increasingly tense relations between the two countries, said Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar. It's not only about the humanitarian crisis that's unfolding in Gaza; Turkiye gradually is perceiving Israel as a national security threat, Serdar explained, noting that Israel's expansionism and attacks across the wider Middle East have been cause for concern.
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