- Trade between the two countries was worth $6.8 billion in 2023
Turkey stopped all trade with Israel as of Thursday, according to two Turkish officials familiar with the matter, adding to already high-running tensions between the once-close allies over the war in Gaza.
The move expands last month’s restriction on some Turkish exports to Israel, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan steps up criticism of the Jewish state and tries to consolidate support among conservative voters at home.
Ankara hasn’t formally announced the suspension and it wasn’t clear under what conditions trade would resume. Trade between the countries was worth $6.8 billion in 2023, of which 76% was Turkish exports, according to the Turkish statistical institute.
The move came a day after Turkey announced plans to join South Africa’s case at the United Nations’ highest court as a plaintiff accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.
Erdogan hosted Hamas’s political leader in Istanbul on April 20, calling for immediate aid to Gaza.
I really would love to feel proud about this as a Turkish citizen, or feel good about this as a person in this world witnessing this current instance of the continuous oppression and genocide, but I really have more doubts than these feelings when it involves Erdoğan and caring about human lives/rights or sincerity.
The last part is the most likely part, because he is doing jack shit to alleviate the already abysmal living standards by meaningful approaches like utilizing taxes and national resources for people’s prosperity instead of filling his unborn grandkids’s pockets further down a millennium. Anything other than addressing this issue is just a smokescreen to goad disgruntled and hungry right-wing nationalists into voting for him again, especially after his party AKP’s crushing defeat in local governments and municipalities.
Besides, I’m sure he is lining up for another bribe into his pocket as he most likely did with his stance on the NATO accession of Sweden, which he similarly shouted and cried about cutting off monetary activities of PKK there for about a few months before timidly accepting a international-politics-wise verbal “okay we accept”, which was promptly called back after the accession was accepted.
Another likely and probably concurrently-running possibility is that he is sucking up to his Qatari sugardaddies, who as everyone knows house some of the high ranking Hamas leaders. Erdoğan has been forming very very close ties with Qatar in recent years, from mutual military personnel training programmes to selling ports, mountain assets, energy tenders, etc. at dirt cheap prices and long leases, to begging money when the Turkish economy he singlehandedly ruined heads to another steep dive into abyss every few months.
So yeah, it will definitely hurt Israel both in economy and reputation at some level, but don’t expect anything with sincere concerns as the reason behind Erdoğan’s actions.