Hamas is studying IN a “positive spirit” the new offer on the table, for a 40-day break in the fighting, its leader, Ismaïl Haniyeh, said on Thursday.
Mr. Haniyeh “confirmed” that a delegation from the movement would travel to Egypt “shortly” to complete recent discussions with a view to a possible agreement which “meets the demands of our people” and “puts an end to the aggression “.
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Humanitarian aid is lacking and it is not happening fast enough for Turkey. The country suspended its trade relations with Israel on Thursday in response to the war in Gaza, a new step in the deterioration of relations between the two countries.
“Exports and imports in relation to Israel have been suspended”announced in a press release the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, which had already restricted the exports of Turkish companies to Israel in April. “Turkey will strictly implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza”adds the ministry.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said earlier Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had “broke the agreements [entre Israël et la Turquie] by blocking Israeli imports and exports at ports”.
HAMAS IN A “POSITIVE SPIRIT”
Hamas is studying in a “positive spirit” the new offer on the table, for a 40-day break in the fighting, its leader, Ismaïl Haniyeh, said Thursday in a telephone conversation with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel.
During this interview, Mr. Haniyeh “confirmed” that a delegation from the movement would go to Egypt “shortly” to complete recent discussions with a view to a possible agreement which “responds to the demands of our people” and “puts end to aggression.”
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Hello everyone in this new live broadcast from May 3, 2024 dedicated to the war in Gaza.
The head of Israeli diplomacy said he wanted “create alternatives to trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries”.
The Turkish Trade Minister did not specify whether Azerbaijani oil exports to Israel via the Turkish port of Ceyhan (South) were affected by Ankara’s decision. According to analysts, more than a third of Israel’s oil needs until recently passed through this Turkish Mediterranean port.
Faced with growing anger among the Turkish population against maintaining trade relations with Israel, the Turkish government restricted exports to Israel of 54 categories of goods, including products made of steel, iron and aluminum, in early April.
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Turkey’s exports to Israel amounted to $5.43 billion in 2023, up from $7.03 billion in 2022 and $6.36 billion in 2021, according to the Turkish Exporters Union and statistics agency Turkstat. Turkey says it wants “ensure that our Palestinian brothers forced to live under occupation are not affected by these restrictions”.
“The Republic of Turkey will continue to support the just cause of our Palestinian brothers, as it has done so far,” writes the Turkish Ministry of Commerce. The war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas has shattered the normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations begun in 2022 after a decade of estrangement.
