Turkey says Israel trade halted until permanent Gaza ceasefire

Turkey will not resume trade with Israel, worth $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza, it said on Friday, the first of Israel’s key partners to halt trade over the conflict.

Israel’s “uncompromising attitude” and the worsening situation in Gaza’s southern Rafah region – where Israel has threatened to launch a new offensive – prompted Turkey to halt all exports and imports, said Trade Minister Omer Bolat.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s move, announced late on Thursday, saying it breaks international trade agreements and was “how a dictator behaves”.

The militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, praised the decision as brave and supportive of Palestinian rights.

“We decided to stop exports and imports to and from Israel until a permanent ceasefire is achieved (in Gaza) and humanitarian aid is allowed without interruption,” the minister Bolat said.

Turkey is negotiating “with our Palestinian brothers on alternative arrangements to ensure that they are not affected by this decision”, he added while announcing April trade figures.

Last month, Turkey curbed exports of steel, fertiliser and jet fuel among 54 product categories over what it said was Israel’s refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza.

All remaining trade, which amounted to $5.4 billion in Turkish exports and $1.6 billion in Israeli imports last year, is now halted.

Top Turkish exports to Israel are steel, vehicles, plastics, electrical devices and machinery, while imports are dominated by fuels at $634 million last year, Turkish trade data show.

WORKAROUNDS

Turkish exporters with firm orders are looking at ways to send their goods to Israel via third countries after Turkey halted bilateral trade, four export sector sources told Reuters.

Katz said blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports ignores trade deals, adding on social media platform X that Israel would work toward alternatives for trade with Turkey.

Turkey has denounced Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, sent thousands of tons of aid for Gazans and, this week, said it would join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Yet its decision to maintain commercial ties with Israel until last month, despite Erdogan’s strong rhetoric, prompted a domestic backlash and hurt the results of the ruling AK Party in nationwide local elections in March.

Hamas said on Friday Turkey’s trade halt was “brave and reflective of the Turkish people’s longstanding support for Palestinian rights and self-determination.”

Turkey maintains ties with Hamas leaders and does not deem it a terrorist group.

More than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s nearly seven-month-old military offensive, Palestinian health officials say, after Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages during an Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Turkish exporters seek workarounds after Israel trade halt, sources say

Turkish exporters with firm orders are looking at ways to send their goods to Israel via third countries after Turkey halted bilateral trade, four export company owners told Reuters, saying the decision had caught them by surprise.

Trade Minister Omer Bolat said on Friday that Turkey will not resume trade with Israel, worth around $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire is secured in the war in Gaza with unhindered humanitarian aid flowing to Palestinians there.

Attending Bolat’s press conference, the owner of a household goods exporter said the trade halt had wrongfooted them, with goods held up at customs, leaving them seeking alternative routes.

“We struggled with customs throughout the day and did not understand what the problem was. The system was closed before the ban decision was announced,” he said.

The owner of a food exporter said the halt in trade also meant blocking goods destined for the Palestinian territories, which have to pass through Israeli customs.

“The Palestinian people will also suffer,” he said. “We will see if we can send the orders via Egypt, Jordan or Lebanon. I don’t know how we’ll get out of this situation.”

The head of a chocolate and confectionery exporter said his company had products produced specifically for the Israeli market, with packaging entirely in Hebrew.

“It is a big material loss for us. There are companies in Israel from which we have receivables and to whom we owe money. What will happen to these receivables when trade stops?” he said, adding that they would seek a solution after talks with their trade partners in Israel.

Turkey is the first of Israel’s key trade partners to halt exports and imports over the war in Gaza.

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