Turkey to suspend trade activities with Israel

Ankara: Israel's "non-stop violence" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip prompted Turkey to suspend all trade with the country, according to the Turkish Trade Ministry.

The action comes after Turkey placed limitations on a range of exports to Israel last month; Ankara declared on Thursday that these limits will stand until a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.

In a statement, the Ministry recalled that Ankara previously restricted the export of 54 product groups to Israel in April because the "massacre, humanitarian catastrophe, and physical destruction caused by Israel continued," and the Israeli government "ignored" international ceasefire efforts and blocked humanitarian aid, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It is observed that the Israeli government continues its aggressive behaviour and the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine worsens," the Ministry said.

"In this respect, the second phase of the measures taken at the state level has been initiated and export and import transactions with Israel have been suspended for all products," said the statement.

Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows the uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, it added.

On the other hand, the Turkish Trade Ministry is coordinating with Palestinian authorities to ensure that Palestinian people "who are forced to live under occupation" are not affected by these restrictions, the Ministry noted.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, trade between the two countries amounted to $6.8 billion in 2023, with Turkish exports accounting for 76 per cent of the total.

With inputs from IANS