Turkey suspended its commercial relations with Israel on Thursday, May 2, after having already restricted its exports to this country in April in response to the war in Gaza, the Turkish Ministry of Commerce announced.
“Exports and imports in relation to Israel have been suspended,” said the ministry, marking a new stage in the deterioration of relations between the two countries.
“Turkey will apply these new measures strictly until the Israeli government authorizes an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” the ministry added in a statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said earlier Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had “broken the agreements [entre Israël et la Turquie] by blocking Israeli imports and exports at ports.”
The head of Israeli diplomacy said he wanted to “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.
