Turkey Halts Trade with Israel over Gaza Crisis: A $6.8 Billion Disruption
Turkey halted all trade with Israel as of Thursday due to the worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories.
The Turkish trade ministry announced that all exports and imports between the two countries have been stopped, affecting a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.
This decision came after Turkey's previous trade restrictions in response to Israel's refusal to allow Ankara to participate in aid operations for Gaza and its offensive on the enclave.
On Thursday, Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan of breaking agreements by obstructing Israeli imports and exports through Turkish ports.
Katz labeled Erdogan as a dictator and instructed the foreign ministry to explore alternatives for trade with Turkey, including local production and imports from other countries.