Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel

Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel, citing the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in Gaza. The Turkish trade ministry announced the measures, which will be in place until Israel allows an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid into Gaza. Trade between the two countries was worth almost $7 billion last year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been increasingly critical of Israel since the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. He has compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin, and dubbed him "the butcher of Gaza."

Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, accused Erdogan of acting like a "dictator" and disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, as well as international trade agreements. Katz instructed the foreign ministry to find alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

Turkey's trade ministry criticized Israel's "uncompromising attitude" towards a ceasefire and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat stated that Turkey has suspended all export and import with Israel until a permanent ceasefire is established and aid into Gaza is allowed without interruption.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have worsened in recent decades. In 2010, Turkey broke off diplomatic ties with Israel after 10 pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed in clashes with Israeli commandos. Relations were restored in 2016, but both countries expelled each other's top diplomats two years later in a dispute over Israel's killing of Palestinians amid protests on the Gaza-Israel border.

Erdogan has come under domestic political pressure to announce measures against Israel, from both opponents and allies. His ruling AK party suffered its worst defeat in two decades in local elections in March, and many religious voters supported the Islamist New Welfare party, which had called for hardline measures against Israel.

The Turkish leader has imposed restrictions on 54 products being exported to Israel, including iron, steel, jet fuel, pesticides, and construction equipment. The trade ministry in Ankara said the action was now being extended to all exports and imports.

Israel has come under increasing criticism for conditions in the Gaza Strip. A UN-backed assessment said last month that 1.1 million people were facing catastrophic hunger and that famine was imminent in northern Gaza by May. The UN says a maritime corridor can never be a substitute for delivery by land, and that land routes are the only way to bring in the bulk of supplies needed.

The US has published photos showing logistics vessels and personnel assembling a floating pier to facilitate the flow of aid into the territory. However, the UN says this is not enough, and that land routes are the only way to bring in the bulk of supplies needed.

Earlier this week, Israel reopened the Erez Crossing into the northern Gaza strip for aid convoys, under pressure from its Western allies and following repeated appeals from international aid organisations. However, Jordan said some of its aid lorries were attacked by Israeli settlers before reaching the crossing.

A recent UN-backed report offered hard statistical evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was turning into a man-made famine. The UN's most senior human rights official, Volker Türk, told the BBC that there was a "plausible" case that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Israel denies limiting aid deliveries and has blamed the UN for failing to distribute it to those in need inside Gaza. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 34,500 people in Gaza since October 7, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas to the latest proposal, which reportedly involves a 40-day ceasefire and the release of more than 30 Israeli hostages in exchange for many more Palestinian prisoners.