Türkiye imposes trade restrictions on Israel
Türkiye imposes trade restrictions on Israel as of Tuesday, including the export of a range of goods such as cement, iron and steel used in construction, in response to the war in Gaza, the Ministry of Commerce announced in a statement.
The Turkish Ministry of Commerce said that, “This decision will remain in effect until Israel declares an immediate ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza in an appropriate and continuous manner”.
Ankara announced on Monday that Israel had rejected Türkiye’s request to deliver humanitarian aid from the air to Gaza.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “There is no excuse for Israel to obstruct our attempt to parachute aid to the starving Gazans”.
“We decided to take a series of new measures against Israel,” he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considered a major critic of the war launched by Israel against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He described Israel several times as a “terrorist state”.
For his part, Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on Tuesday that his country has become the country that has sent the most humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
This came in a post on X, in which Tunç spoke about Türkiye’s position regarding the Israeli war on the Palestinians in Gaza.
Tunç stressed that Türkiye, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will continue to defend justice in the world, and will continue to support the Palestinians.
He continued, “Türkiye always stands by its Palestinian brothers, and Israel – the occupying state – is trampling international law and committing war crimes in Gaza in front of humanity since October 7”.
