Ankara had stopped all export and import operations to and from Israel as of Thursday, Bloomberg quoted Turkish officials.
Israel criticized this move. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is violating the agreements by closing the ports to Israeli imports and exports.
“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Katz said on the X platform.
.@RTErdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports. This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements. I have instructed the Director General of the…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 2, 2024
Katz said that he issued directives to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work on finding alternatives to trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.
Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the Turkish President has strongly criticized Israel, describing it as a “terrorist state”.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that Turkey had decided to join South Africa in the case it filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Fidan said in a joint press conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Ankara, “After completing the legal context for our work, we will submit the official declaration of accession before the International Court of Justice in implementation of the political decision (that we took).”
He added, “Türkiye continues to support the Palestinian people in all circumstances”.
Last month, Turkey announced that it would impose trade restrictions on Israel in light of the Israeli invasion and genocide in Gaza, including a group of products including cement, steel, and building materials made of iron.
